A Senior Year Of Unexpected Events
by emilyjasmine
Summary: Finn's 'ill' and isn't able to attend the last party of summer so Puck takes it upon himself to make sure Rachel has fun. One things leads to another and Rachel ends up pregnant. With this and the fact Shelby's back, it's definitely going to be a senior year to remember.
1. Chapter 1

_A Senior Year of Unexpected Events_

_A Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman fanfic;_

_By emmielovestonks;_

_Disclaimer – I own nothing but the plot._

_Okay so I had originally said I was going to write more Pezberry one-shots but I got this idea in my head and didn't pause. I have written another Pezberry fic that I will upload in a couple of days but I wanted to get this one up and going before I start college._

_I'm one of those people that ships Rachel with practically everyone because you can adapt her personality to go with many people. I also wish that the writers had made her and Shelby reunite properly but they didn't so instead that's what I'm going to try and do. I hope that you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing._

It had been the summer of her dreams. She had Finn again, everyone seemed to be getting along, despite what happened in New York and she was going to be starting her senior year in the fall. There was just one party left before everyone had to sober up for the school year and it was as this party where everything seemed to go wrong for Rachel Berry.

Finn called earlier in the evening saying that he barfing up chunks and wasn't able to make it to Santana's party. Rachel offered to go to his to make sure he was okay but he refused, stating that she should go out and have one more night of fun; he'd make up for it when he was better. So that was why Rachel was stood by the drink bar wearing a very short and revealing dress on her own. She had arrived with Kurt and Blaine but they were on the dance floor with a couple of beers already knocked down.

She had been there for a couple of hours watching the scene unfold. More and more people came over to her asking her to dance and some she accepted like Mike and Sam and some, like Jacob Ben Israel, God knows how he got in, she rejected and had to push away. There was always a glass of something in her hand, Puck kept going over to her and pouring more in. At first she was just drinking Coke, then it became Vodka and Coke and now she had no idea what it was, but it tasted nice.

Puck noticed again that Rachel's glass was empty and that wouldn't do. He'd wanted to get in her pants since their sophomore year really but he blew her off as the jumpers turned him off. But right now, her dress was highlighting every curve and barely covered up her thighs. Not to mention it was bright red and he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Tonight he was going to get his way!

"Hello, hottie!" Puck whispered seductively into her ear as he poured more vodka into her glass then topping it up with an energy drink.

"Hello, Noah," Rachel slurred and then giggled with the way her voice sounded. "Maybe I've drank more than I thought I had."

Nodding, Puck wrapped his arm around her body and pulled her close. With her mind fogged with alcohol, Rachel seemed to forget about the tall football player that she called her boyfriend. Instead, she leant upwards and kissed Puck on the mouth with him responding straight away.

And that's how that started. When Rachel woke up in the morning she was lying next to Puck in a bedroom that she didn't recognise. She rubbed her eyes and sat up and the previous night came flooding back. Getting drunk, kissing Puck…..having sex with Puck.

"Oh, shit!" She cried a little too loudly, her head clanged and Puck started to stir. Not wanting the confrontation, she quickly threw on her clothes and grabbed her shoes before running out of the room.

Once safely out, she stepped into her heels and left the Lopez' and made her way to her house.

oOoOo

She tried not to remember that night and told Finn that she got a little drunk but went upstairs and went to sleep before going home in the morning. Fortunately for Rachel, there was only her and Puck that knew about them; well that's what she thought.

Finn picked Rachel up early on the first day of school and they walked in together. It was their senior year and Finn wanted to end it on top, being the captain and quarter back of the football team and having the hottest girl in the school and hot she was.

Kurt and Santana had finally got their wish; Rachel had agreed to let them take her shopping. All of the animal sweaters and knee socks had been thrown out and replace with short dresses, tank tops, jeans and so many other things. Santana didn't mind being in public with Rachel anymore and the two had become great friends.

Santana was the first one to greet Rachel as she walked down the corridor with Finn to their lockers.

"Hey, Rach!" Santana called and motioned her over. "Looking fine!" The Latina was looking proudly at what Rachel had put on this morning. She was wearing a white tank top and a deep blue blazer over the top. She also had a short black skirt and was wearing black wedges with no knee socks in sight.

"Hey, San!" Rachel called back. Then as she got closer, the smaller girl said, "You don't look so bad yourself." Santana grinned, smoothing out her Cheerio uniform and linked her arms with Rachel as Finn just followed behind.

The three of them then made their way into the choir room to greet the other glee clubbers. Quinn beckoned Rachel and Santana over and Finn went and sat down next to Mike and Sam. The two girls joined Quinn, Kurt, Blaine and the other girls. Kurt was gushing over how happy he was that Blaine had transferred. No one, bar Rachel, noticed that Puck was sat on his own, his eyes full of shock looking at Rachel's transformation. He didn't admit it out loud but she looked fine, it was now that he was glad Lauren had ditched him during the summer.

Everyone was excited to be starting this year, convinced they were going to become National Champions, as for some, it was their last year at McKinley. Everyone was so engrossed in all the different conversations going on that they didn't notice a woman stood at the door watching everyone. Her long dark hair framing her face, holding a folder to her chest, her eyes filled with guilt as she looked at the back of Rachel's head. Shaking her head slightly, she backed away from the door and moved on to her classroom.

"As happy as I am for you guys," Mercedes began, Brittany and Santana had just announced their relationship, "there is something we've been meaning to tell you too."

"We?" Tina asked curiously. Mercedes nodded and stood up and made her way over to Sam. Sam looked up at her questioningly and she nodded. He then stood up and took her hand.

"Yeah," Mercedes began.

"We started dating just before the summer and we're still together!" Sam finished and kissed Mercedes soundly on the lips. All the girls, as well as Kurt 'awed' but as the boys stood up to congratulate them, the bell rang indicating it was time to move to first lesson.

Rachel rushed to Finn's side and kissed him goodbye, not noticing the jealousy in Puck's eyes, before linking arms with Kurt and Santana and heading off to her first lesson.

oOoOo

Rachel, Kurt and Santana got to their English class in the nick of time but were surprised to see that the teacher wasn't there and fortunately, there were three empty seats on the back row of the class. The three headed to them and started getting out their paper and pens just at the sound of heels clicked into the room announcing the arrival of their teacher.

Kurt and Santana gasped but Rachel had her head under the table with her hand in her bag trying to find her pen.

"Hello everyone, I'm Miss Corcoran and I'll be your English teacher for this year," Shelby announced after she wrote her name and the lesson on the board.

There was a loud bang heard and everyone turned to the back of the room. Rachel was clutching the back of head. In shock, she'd lifted her head too early and clonked it on the table, forgetting that she was underneath it. She groaned in pain and felt something slipping down her hand.

"She's bleeding!" Kurt gasped and stepped back to make sure none of it got on his outfit. Santana, however, grabbed some tissue from her bag to put pressure onto Rachel's cut.

Shelby rushed forward and with Santana on the other side, they helped Rachel out of her seat.

"I'll be right back," Shelby announced to the class, "Kurt, you're in charge."

Rachel stumbled blindly down the corridor, not registering who was holding her but the pain got too much and she passed out.

"Santana, go to the office and the nurse, she needs to go to hospital!" Shelby ordered. Santana nodded and rushed off.

Well this was definitely not the way Shelby's return to Lima was meant to go. She knew it was going to be chaotic, but she never thought she'd have to take Rachel to the nurse with the back of her head bleeding. Moments later, Santana hurried back and she was followed by Mr Shuester and the school nurse. The nurse went into action checking Rachel and then rushed off to meet the ambulance.

"What happened?" Mr Shuester asked Shelby.

"I don't know, I was introducing myself and there was a bang," Shelby began, "I then looked to where the sound was and Rachel was clinging to the back of her head." She began to panic and started to hyperventilate, what if something happened to Rachel and it was her fault!?

"This isn't your fault," Will assured Shelby, "She'll be fine."

At that moment, the nurse was followed by the ambulance crew and they began working on Rachel immediately. They attached a drip to her arm and placed her head into a brace and lifted her onto the stretcher. Will thought it was best to go with her to the hospital and to tell her fathers what had happened.

Slightly shaken, Shelby and Santana went back to class and the Latina quickly filled Kurt in with what had happened and Kurt finished his text message to Finn about the situation.

Calming herself down quickly, Shelby restarted the lesson and told them about what they were going to be studying over the year and in the next few weeks. Fortunately for all of them, the drama had taken up most of the lesson and the bell quickly rang indicating that it was time for them to go to the next lesson.

Santana and Kurt went separate ways, Santana to Spanish and Kurt to French and Shelby stayed getting things ready for her next class. This class also happened to contain seniors and this time, it was Puck and Mercedes from the glee club that entered her classroom. Both having received messages from Kurt and Santana, they were aware that not only was Shelby back, but Rachel was on her way to hospital. Shelby was surprised that the first thing Puck said to her was about Rachel, not Beth.

"What the hell did you do to Rachel?" He questioned after he gave Mercedes his bag to put on the desk next to her.

"I didn't do anything, she hit her head on the table," Shelby replied calmly trying not to feel guilty. She knew it was her fault; if she hadn't announced who she was to the class while Rachel was sorting through her bag, she would have risen so quickly ending up with a bashed head.

"She'd better be okay!" Puck cried but Mercedes walked up to the front and pulled his arm to make him sit down.

"Rach will be fine," she murmured to him as they sat down. Puck and Mercedes had a strange friendship but it worked for them. She was the only one who Puck trusted with anything and therefore, she knew all about Rachel and Puck at summer.

Puck didn't relax the whole lesson and kept glaring at Shelby. He knew she wasn't worth it but he wanted someone to blame.

The lesson passed quickly and when the bell rang, Puck threw his things back into his bag and started to follow the others rushing out for break.

"Hold on for a second, Noah," Shelby called. Grumbling, Puck turned round and went to her desk after telling Mercedes he'd catch her later. Mercedes gave him a worried look but Puck shook his head and she left.

"Why are you back?" He asked.

"I came back for two reasons," Shelby replied, glad that he wasn't shouting at her again. "I want you and Quinn to be able to see Beth and have a relationship with her like I didn't have with Rachel. I'm also back to make amends with Rachel."

"Nice way to start," Puck muttered.

"I know," she said holding herself. "I just hope she's okay."

Just as Puck was going to reply he felt his phone buzz. Not caring that he was technically in the presence of a teacher, he whipped out his phone and looked at the text message.

**Come to the hospital after school, it's important – Rachel.**

Puck breathed a sigh of relief. "She's okay," he muttered to Shelby, "She's awake enough to text me."

Shelby nodded and made to say something but Puck left. He needed to find Mercedes and tell her about the text. Knowing that she'd be in the choir room, he ran to there as fast as he could, dodging between the other students through the school.

Once he was there, he noticed everyone was smiling.

"Rachel's okay!" Quinn cried as Puck walked into the room.

"How do you know?" He asked, pretending that he didn't get Rachel's text.

"She text Finn saying she was awake. She won't be back to school until next week at the earliest though, she's got concussion," Quinn replied.

"Where are you going?" Mercedes called as Puck turned and headed out of the room.

The mohawked boy quickly filled Mercedes in with the text and she agreed to cover for him as he rushed to the hospital. He was expecting the worst but what he was met with was worse than the worst case scenario in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel was rushed into the hospital with Mr Schuester by her side answering all of the personal questions he knew. He'd contacted Hiram and Leroy on the way to the hospital and they agreed that they would meet him there. When the ambulance crew and Will rushed through to the ER they were met by Hiram and Leroy, the two Berry men rushing to take either side of the stretcher.

Once in the ward, the ambulance members filled in the nurses and doctor with that had happened and they rushed off to leave the doctor and nurses to do their job. First on the agenda was stitching up the back of Rachel's head, which was easier said than done, but they manage to do it without having to shave part of her head. The blood in her hair made it so it was visible where the cut was.

Will was with the Berrys and filled them in with what had happened.

"What do you mean, 'Shelby's back'?" Leroy questioned, Hiram was too frightened to say anything, his pale face whiter than usual.

"Exactly that. Rachel was surprised that it was her and she rushed from under the table, hence how she hit her head," Will replied. "It's not Shelby's fault," he added firmly.

"I just hope that our Rach will be okay," Leroy muttered and took Hiram's hand in his trying to be the stronger one.

The wait was agonising but eventually it came to an end and the doctor came out asking to talk to Hiram and Leroy. Will was glad to hear everything was okay and headed back to school to inform the rest of the glee clubbers.

The doctor led the Berry men into a private office to show them some documents.

"We took a couple of tests to make sure everything was okay with her and there was an abnormality on one, meaning we had to investigate further," the doctor told them.

"Excuse me?" Leroy asked.

"Rachel is pregnant."

oOoOo

When Rachel finally woke up she didn't realise what was going on, or where she was.

"Where am I? What's going on?" She cried as she saw a nurse making her way over.

"You're in the ER, you hit your head, sweetie," the nurse replied as she moved Rachel's hair out of her face.

Just then, the doctor walked back in. Realising Rachel was awake, he thought it was best to tell her what he found out.

"Rachel, can you remember the last time you had sexual intercourse?" He asked gently.

Rachel cast her mind back but it was fuzzy, since she was drunk at the time but she remembered the morning perfectly.

"Two weeks ago," she replied.

"That makes sense," the doctor muttered. "I'm afraid you're pregnant, Rachel."

oOoOo

It had been half an hour since Rachel had woken up and she was feeling better. She had taken a fair amount of pain killers but that was necessary. She'd also texted Finn to let him know that she was okay but because of the news the doctor had said, she had also text Puck. She had told him to come after school but because she knew him so well, she knew he'd be there as soon as he could after getting the message. So she was unsurprised when she saw him walk through the door with worry plastered on his face.

"Rach, is everything okay?" Puck asked as he rushed up to her bed and took her hand.

"I'm okay," she replied, "You might want to take a seat for what I'm about to tell you."

Doing what she said, Puck pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "What's wrong, Rach?"

"I'm pregnant," she admitted and the tears started to fall again.

Her dads had entered the room after the doctor had left. She could tell by their facial expressions that they had been told what she had just been told. She was expecting a lecture but they both just said at either side of her and cried while she cried for around half an hour before she fell asleep. The Berry men stayed with her for a while before getting a drink to calm their nerves, this was where they were now.

"Is it mine?" Puck asked already knowing the answer.

Rachel nodded guiltily, "From the party," she muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Puck told her and grasped her hand tighter, "we can work this out."

oOoOo

Rachel woke again this time hearing shouting coming from outside the room. She'd sent Noah back to school and fell asleep again. She froze for a moment wondering if he'd told and this was him and Finn shouting but it didn't sound like them. There were three very familiar voices and after listening for a second, she recognised them to be her fathers' and Shelby's. Moments later, the door was opened and the Shelby came in with the Berry men quickly behind her.

"Shelby, we don't want you here," Hiram yelled pointing at the door, indicating that that's where she should go.

"No, I want to talk to her," Rachel admitted, the three then looked over and saw that she was awake. Leroy started to complain but Rachel interrupted, "please Dad."

Leroy hesitated, but after seeing the pleading in Rachel's eyes, the Berry men nodded and left the room, both glaring at Shelby before they left.

"I'm so sorry," Shelby began but Rachel held her hand up.

"I know," she told her. "But that's not why I wanted to talk to you."

Shelby looked confused so Rachel motioned for her to sit down so she could explain properly.

"I need my mom right now," she muttered. Hope was etched onto Shelby's face and Rachel could see it. It made her happy.

"I'm here," Shelby told her. "That's also why I'm back."

This time, Rachel believed her. She saw the honesty in Shelby's eyes and knew that third time lucky made sense.

"I'm pregnant," Rachel admitted quietly and looked up to see if Shelby's reaction changed.

Shock flickered on her face but the realisation replace it, "Noah's the father, isn't her?" She asked gently and Rachel nodded not bothering to ask how her mother knew. "Come here, Sweetie," Shelby continued.

Shelby stood up closer to Rachel's bed with her arms open and Rachel leaned into them, welcoming the hug from her mother that she'd craved for so long.

Leroy and Hiram watched the scene through the window on the door. They didn't know what Rachel was going through but Shelby did. They now realised that with what was going on, Rachel would need Shelby more than them and they vowed that that would happen, all in the name of Rachel being safe and happy.

oOoOo

A couple of hours later, Rachel had been moved to a different ward; she was being kept in overnight to be monitored before she was allowed to go home.

It was around five in the evening, when all the glee members charged through the door, most carrying flowers or a snack of some sort. Santana, Kurt, Quinn and Mercedes were all carrying a bunch of flowers and Finn, Tina and Puck brought chocolates. Mike, Blaine and Sam were carrying bottles of soda and Artie and Brittany had crisps and cups.

Rachel was grateful but as usual, they were all being extremely loud. "As much as I love you guys, you really need to learn to be quiet," she mumbled.

"Sorry," they murmured before sitting down somewhere, some sharing chairs and others propped on the bed Rachel was lying on.

"Are you feeling better, babe?" Finn asked stroking her hair fondly, Puck had to look away to avoid being sick with jealousy.

"Much, especially now you guys are here," she replied and smiled at everyone.

"Has the dragon apologised?" Santana asked. She and Brittany were sharing the chair next to the bed.

"Don't call her that, San," Rachel told her, "It's not her fault, I'm just clumsy. But yes, she's been and we're going to try and be friends."

That was technically true; they were going to be friends. Rachel hadn't decided what she was going to do yet. If she was honest, she wanted to keep the baby but she couldn't lie to Finn. She needed to break up with him so he didn't find out that she'd cheated on him and lied to him. She loved him but she couldn't do that to him. She looked over to Puck and realised that he knew what she was meaning by that and he smiled at her.

"You gonna be back at school soon? We need you for Sectionals!" Mercedes asked.

"I'll be back by then," Rachel assured her, "I'm won't be back for at least two weeks the doctors said. I need to rest and take some medication but I'll be fine after that."

They all talked about what had happened during the meeting but Rachel was glad to hear that nothing important had happened. Apparently they'd just spend the lesson decided what things to buy when they all visited Rachel.

Unfortunately for them all, after an hour of being there they were all asked to leave as Rachel needed a dose of medication that would send her to sleep. After saying goodbye and a kiss from Finn, they left but Puck managed to hang back.

"I need to talk to her, it'll be quick, I promise," he muttered to the nurse. She saw the pain in his eyes and told him he had ten minutes.

He went back into the room and sat next to Rachel on the bed. "What are you planning to do?" he asked.

"I want to keep it," Rachel muttered. "Shelby says she's going help me through the pregnancy."

"I want to help you too," Puck admitted.

"Noah-"

"Quinn didn't let me when she was carrying Beth and I'm glad because as much as I love Quinn, I'm not in love with her. It's totally different with you though, Rach. I am in love with you. I don't want you to be with Finn," Puck revealed.

Rachel leant up and placed her hand on his cheek. "We'll figure this out," she promised him and he leant down so she could kiss him sweetly.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he told her and after a kiss to her forehead, he picked up his coat and left.

"Why is everything so hard!?" Rachel groaned to herself. Then moments later, the nurse was back and she took her medication for her head. She was going to keep it, she knew that for sure, but she didn't know if it was going to be Noah or Finn by her side. She wanted both but knew it wasn't possible. At some point, she would have to tell the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of days later, Rachel was settled on the couch with Funny Girl on the screen and surrounded by blankets and pillows to keep her warm. She had a mug of vegan hot chocolate and popcorn. The curtains were closed and the only light was coming from the TV. She was still suffering from headaches and had to take medication regularly but it was getting better for which she was grateful.

There was a knock on the door and she gently got up to answer it. Looking at her watch she realised that glee was going on so it probably wasn't going to be one of the glee kids but it was probably Puck as he came round every day to make sure she was okay, yet it wasn't like him to miss glee. Rachel had also told her fathers that he was the baby's father. They had to admit, they were glad it was him. Hiram and Puck's mother, Edith, have been best friends since high school. They sat him down and said that since he was the one who got her pregnant, he had to be there for her no matter what. Puck had promised that he would.

When Rachel finally opened the door she was surprised to see that it was Quinn stood there instead of Puck and, even though Quinn was one of her best friends, she was a little disappointed but didn't show it.

"Hey, Quinn," Rachel greeted, "Come on in!"

"Hey, Rachel," the blonde muttered quietly and followed the smaller girl in.

Rachel paused her film and turned the lights on dimly so she could see Quinn's face.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked. Quinn wasn't exactly a loud person but this silence was freaking her out.

"I don't know how to tell you…"

"I suggest you be quick, like a plaster, ripping it off quickly," Rachel suggested, "blurt it out."

"Finn kissed me," Quinn blurted but she regretted it as soon as it came out.

Rachel knew this should kill her, her boyfriend had technically cheated but she couldn't find it. This wasn't as bad as what she'd done; she'd slept with his best friend!

"Oh!" It was all Rachel could say. That was apparently enough for Quinn as she rattled of the tale of how it happened.

_Quinn was walking into the choir room; usually only Rachel would have been there that early but with Rachel being home, she presumed she'd be first. However, she was surprised when she saw Finn saw in the corner with a dazed look on his face. _

"_What's wrong, Finn?" She asked as she made her way over to him._

"_I miss Rachel," he admitted, "I feel like she doesn't want to be with me anymore."_

"_She loves you, she's just not well," Quinn replied._

"_I know but I felt it before the summer ended, since Santana's party that I didn't go to, because I was umm, poorly. Did she sleep with someone?" Finn asked regrettably._

"_Not that I'm aware of," Quinn answered honestly. "Besides, she's my best friend, she would have told me."_

_Then suddenly Finn's lips were upon hers and she didn't fight it because when she kissed Finn, she felt fireworks. That was why she was so heartbroken when he broke up with her. But then she realised that he was with Rachel at that moment and pulled back._

"_I have to go," she told him and ran from the room and went straight to Rachel's house._

Once Quinn finished her story, she sat back with bated breath, waiting for Rachel to snap.

"Now it's my turn to tell you something," Rachel admitted and told Quinn about the party and Puck. She finished the story by blurting out, "I'm pregnant with his baby!"

This time it was Quinn who was in shock. She had suspected that Puck had feelings for his fellow Jew but didn't want to say anything. Now she knew it was true and she actually felt happy about it.

"I think you'd be amazing together," she said honestly.

"I think it too," Rachel admitted, "I actually feel grateful that Finn kissed you but I don't know what do to! I love Finn so much; he's been my constant really. It hurt when he went after Santana and Brittany so I got back at him with Jesse and Noah. But now I think about it, I love Noah too. I don't know what to do!"

"You're rambling," Quinn told her best friend laughing slightly at Rachel's guilty face.

"I know."

"We cool?" The blonde asked hopefully.

"Of course, but only if you don't tell anyone about the baby. Like I said, I love Finn but I don't want to hurt him and with what happened with you and Noah, this will kill him!" Rachel admitted.

"We'll find a way."

oOoOo

It was a later in the evening when the doorbell rang and this time it was Leroy who answered the door.

"Good evening, Noah," he greeted and stepped to the side to let him in.

Rachel, who was still lying on the sofa lifted her head in the direction of the door and smiled brightly.

"Hello, Leroy," Puck replied and entered the house and sat next to Rachel on the sofa, his hand immediately seeking hers and kissing her on the temple.

"Hey you," he muttered.

"Hello," Rachel replied a smile still dazzling.

"Shelby said she was going to come round tomorrow," Puck informed her, "She asked me to look after Beth while she was here."

"That's great," Rachel said, "There's something I need to tell you."

Rachel then told him about Quinn and Finn and that Quinn knew about the baby and that Puck was the father. It shocked him that Finn would cheat on Rachel but it was also surprising that she was okay with Puck being the dad.

"So that's why she wasn't in glee and Finn looked guilty," Puck said as it dawned on him. "Oh you missed a couple of fights today. There was one between Azimo and Finn, which I joined in as I Finn was being pummelled and there was more a bitch fight between Santana and a brunette cheerio."

"You could have gotten suspended!" Rachel shook her head.

"Nah, it's cool. Shelby saw what happened and Azimo got suspended and Finn and I got detention," he assured her. Rachel was still shaking her head at the boy she loved. She hadn't said it out loud and wasn't going to. Not only was it too soon, she was still technically in a relationship with Finn.

Around ten minutes later, Leroy and Hiram joined the teenagers in the living room and put in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and the four of them watched the film together. Hiram had his arm around Leroy and Rachel had her head on Puck's lap. Half way through the film Rachel had fallen asleep and Puck gently lifted her up and laid her on the bed. He kissed her temple and whispered, "I love you," and then went back down and bid the Berry men goodbye before leaving.

oOoOo

Puck had been right, it was about an hour after school would have finished and the doorbell rang. Rachel got up and answered it and was greeted by her mom.

"Hey, Rach, are you feeling any better?" Shelby asked as they were sitting in the kitchen, Rachel making them both a coffee.

"Yeah, actually," Rachel replied pouring the soy milk into their coffees. "Noah's been here nearly every day and Quinn stopped by yesterday." With the mention of Quinn, Rachel told her mom what had happened with Quinn and Finn.

"I'm glad that you're not upset about it but I still think you need to consider everything," Shelby told her wisely. "You need to not be hasty. You declared your love for Finn and he is obviously hurt and confused."

Rachel agreed and looked at lap. Shelby was right, and Rachel knew it. Why are moms always right? She wondered.

The rest of the conversation wasn't as heavy and Puck, Finn and the baby weren't mentioned and they discussed school and what Rachel wanted to do when she was older.

Before the mother and daughter realised it, it was dark and the Berry men walked in. Not knowing how they'd react to Shelby being there, she stood up quickly and started saying goodbye to Rachel so she could leave.

"Hello, Shelby," Leroy greeted and smiled at her. He noticed that she looked confused so he asked, "Can we all speak in the kitchen?"

Shelby looked at Rachel questioningly but the teenager just shrugged and followed her dad into the kitchen as requested.

"Hello, Sweetiepie," Hiram greeted his daughter, "hello, Shelby," he said as she followed Rachel.

"Shelby, with Rachel being pregnant, she really needs her mom," Leroy began.

"She knows we love her but obviously, we don't know what it's like to be pregnant," Hiram continued.

"This is why we would like to negotiate the contract so that you can be her mom and help her while she's pregnant," Leroy said.

"She'll already be eighteen when the pregnancy ends and then it is up to her if she wants us all in her life. I know my daughter extremely well and I am confident that she will want us all," Hiram finished.

Shelby didn't know what to say, this is what she wanted and it was being offered to her. She looked to Rachel but she had already rushed to her fathers, hugging them and repeating thank you.

"I would be honoured if that happened," Shelby finally said and Rachel rushed to her and wrapped her arms round her mother tightly.

"I'm so happy about that, Mom!" Rachel cried and tears started to fall down her face in excitement. Shelby stroked her daughter's hair as the Berry men watched on with fondness. They were right, Rachel did need her mom and they were happy that Shelby had stepped up to the job.

"I'm sorry to be a buzz kill," Shelby said as Rachel let go of her, "But I need go swap with Noah."

Rachel nodded, as much as she wanted Shelby to stay, Beth needed her and Rachel was actually happy that Noah would be coming as she wanted to tell him her good news.


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm so overwhelmed with all of the reviews I'm getting, it seems everyone's liking my story which obviously makes me happy. I'm not going to be revealing anything so if you've asked me questions, you're just going to have to keep reading to find out the answers. I will make sure all your questions get answered during the story but you'll just have to wait and see. With all this said, let's continue with chapter 4 :D._

It was finally the weekend and Rachel had invited all the glee girls and Kurt to her house. However, when they arrived, she groaned when she saw the heavy folders Santana, Mercedes and Tina were holding.

"We're sorry, Rach," Mercedes said sitting down on the sofa after handing Rachel the folder she was carrying, "Your mom made us bring the work you've missed so you didn't fall behind."

Rachel understood and was surprised that she hadn't thought of that herself, but she was thankful. Instead of starting straight away, she put the folders on the side and then started conversing with the girls about all that had been going on.

The jocks were still throwing slushies, much to their dismay but Shelby has made it clear that once Rachel returns, she mustn't be slushied as it is dangerous for her head. Rachel smiled at this, it was plausible but she was sure it wasn't scientifically true but the jocks wouldn't question it.

Coach Sylvester was still attempting to destroy the club and had managed to persuade Quinn to re-join the team. However, Sue didn't know that it was so Quinn, Santana and Brittany could end their school career as they started it.

"You should totally join the team too!" Brittany said clapping like it was a great idea.

"Fat chance," Rachel replied and everyone laughed.

Kurt and Mercedes were gushing about how their relationships were going strong, Tina and Brittany saying that theirs were going well. Rachel was happy to see Santana and Brittany snuggle closer together, they truly deserved each other and Rachel was proud that her best friend had the courage to come out to everyone. Brittany had been right last year; yes, there were comments, but Santana slashed them with her vicious words and they hadn't bothered them since.

They mentioned how Finn seemed to be coping with Rachel not being at school but this didn't shock Rachel, Finn was a big boy, he could look after himself, however, she missed the glare Santana sent to Quinn. Then finally the conversation turned to Puck.

"No one really heard from him this summer and now he's always down," Brittany said sadly. "I don't like seeing him like this."

"I just wish he'd tell me what was going on," Mercedes admitted, "He usually tells me everything but he's hiding something, I can feel it."

Quinn looked up at Rachel but the brunette looked away trying not to make eye contact. Luckily, no one, bar Santana, noticed this but the Latina stayed quiet, she'd question Rachel later.

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Kurt added and that was the end of the conversation.

Rachel put in a DVD and everyone started to watch it. She quickly bowed out into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Opening the cupboard, she found the box where her medication was and got herself two tablets from two different boxes and started to swallow them one by one. She didn't realise that someone had followed her into the kitchen.

"I thought we'd turned over a new leaf," the voice said. Spinning quickly, Rachel saw Santana stood in the door way with her hand on her hips and a hurt expression on her beautiful face. "I consider you one of my best friends now. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Rachel asked. She wasn't playing the innocent card like she usually did; she actually didn't know what the Latina was talking about. Santana seemed to realise this.

Stepping closer to Rachel, she whispered, "You and Puck," before turning round and going back into the living room to watch the rest of the movie. Rachel practically kicked herself, of course Santana would notice, she notices everything, before swallowing the last pill and going back to watch the film.

oOoOo

A couple of hours later the girls, and Kurt, said goodbye and left Rachel. All were feeling sorry for her, knowing that she had a lot of work to do now they were gone. Deciding that it was best to get it out of the way, she started her work. Luckily for her, they were starting the year with catching up from the end of last year so she was able to complete most of her work easily. She spent the rest of the afternoon completing everything for her different subjects until her head started to ache again. She had completed a high percentage of the work which meant she would have less to do tomorrow. Deciding she had finished for the day she picked up her phone and rang her mom.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby answered after the second ring. "What's up?"

"Would you be able to bring me the day's work after each day instead of it all at the weekend? I feel like I'm gonna drop dead!" Rachel replied.

"So dramatic," Shelby muttered, "But yes, I'll bring them with me or I'll give them to Noah to bring."

"Thanks, Mom!"

"Oh and Rachel, I think it would be best to book an appointment for the baby sooner rather than later."

Rachel was about to reply then the doorbell sounded. "Yeah okay but I have to go. Bye!"

After the call, Rachel threw her phone on her bed and skipped downstairs. It was most probably Noah and she was excited to see him. However, when she opened the door a different boy was stood there.

"Finn!" She gasped.

"Hey, babe!" He greeted and swooped down to kiss her but Rachel turned her head at the last minute and the kiss went to her cheek. Finn may be dim but he knew something was definitely wrong now. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

They walked back to the sofa and started talking about what Rachel had missed. She knew Finn well enough to know that he was hiding something but she already knew what it was, or so she thought, so she didn't question him.

"Everyone misses you at school," Finn told her.

"I miss everyone too. I wanna go back but the doctors say and have to have at least another week off," Rachel replied, "It's driving me insane."

"I'm surprised there isn't sheet music everywhere. With all this time off, I thought you'd be practising," Finn joked.

"You would think that, but when you sing loudly like me, and you've recently cracked your head open, it causes headaches. It's so depressing!" Rachel cried dramatically.

"Always the drama queen," he murmured and smiled at his girlfriend fondly. "I've missed you."

Finn then leant forward and kissed her and this time, she responded immediately. Everything about Puck and Quinn was forgotten, right now, it was just her and Finn. Pulling back slightly, Finn tilted his head indicating they should go upstairs and Rachel gladly followed him.

"I'll promise to be quiet," he murmured and kissed her head before kissing down to her lips again.

oOoOo

Rachel woke up later that day hearing the front door open and shut. Her eyes flew open as she realised her fathers where home. She turned in her bed and saw the still sleeping Finn. She leant forward and kissed him awake. His eyes fluttered open and leant forward to continue what she'd started.

"Rach, we're home!" Leroy called up the stairs.

Finn leant back and they both jumped out the bed and threw on their clothes. Finn used the bathroom while Rachel tied up her hair to hide the sex hair.

"Down in a minute!" Rachel shouted down the stairs as loud as she could without giving herself a headache and giggled when Finn came out the bathroom with a dopey grin on his face.

"We got away with that quite nicely, don't you think?" He asked and leant down to kiss her.

"We know you're here, Finn, so come downstairs and we'll start making dinner," Hiram called. They'd spotted the tall teen's car on the street.

"You were saying?" Rachel joked and took his hand and led him to the kitchen.

Once there, Hiram raised his eyebrow at her and she blushed but shook her head mouthing 'later'.

Noticing the lack of conversation, Leroy started one on football and Finn started rambling away with him. Hiram added a few comments in but Rachel remained silent for two reasons. One was that she had no idea what was going on and the other was that she realised she could stay with Finn and claim the baby was his! They didn't use protection so it was totally plausible. But then Noah floated into her mind, it would kill him and she couldn't do that. There was also the fact Finn had cheated on her one so he could do it again. Once again, she was back to having no idea what to do.

oOoOo

"You have got to be kidding me!" Shelby cried down the phone after Rachel admitted what had happened early the next morning.

"I'm sorry, it just happened," Rachel replied.

"Yes because he's guilty," Shelby said. "You said that Quinn and Finn kissed the other day so I've been keeping an eye on them at school and they are constantly together and are sneaking looks at each other. You said the other day that he hadn't visited you. I'm pretty sure there's more going on. There's also a brunette cheerleader he's been with when not with Quinn," she added as an afterthought.

"I understand, Mom," Rachel sighed. "I'll call Quinn and ask her to come over."

"You do that, Honey. I'll talk to you later."

oOoOo

Early in the afternoon, Rachel was just finishing the last of the work that she had missed when the doorbell sounded.

"Rach, Quinn's here," Leroy shouted up, "I'll send her up."

The next sounds Rachel heard was Quinn rushing up the stairs and skipping into Rachel's room throwing herself on the bed.

"Hola," Quinn said smiling up at Rachel who was sat by her desk.

Deciding that she should just get it out in the open Rachel blurted, "What's going on between you and Finn?"

"I told you," Quinn replied her smile slipping away rapidly; "He kissed me, nothing else."

"That's not what my mom said," Rachel said looking away from her best friend.

"I'm so sorry," Quinn muttered before starting another story.

_Finn had asked if he could go over to her house because they've barely spent any time together for so long. Quinn said it was okay; she missed him too._

_They were sitting on her bed when he leaned over and kissed her._

"_What about Rachel?" Quinn asked pulling back slightly._

"_She doesn't have to know," Finn muttered, kissing Quinn on her jaw line._

"_I don't want to hurt her," she mumbled, bringing his lips back to hers. Nothing more was said on that matter as the kiss progressed to more._

Suddenly, Rachel's mind was made up. She wasn't going to claim that the baby was Finn's; she wasn't going to stay with him. She was mad that he'd slept with Quinn but she saw how happy her best friend was when she spoke about him.

"He belongs with you," Rachel admitted quietly. When Quinn began to speak the brunette held her hand up. "It's true. I'd appreciate it if you left."

Nodding regrettably, Quinn stood up and left, wiping away a tear as she went.

Rachel was left in her room with tears streaming down her face. She stood up from her desk and collapsed on her bed with sobs erupting from her chest.


	5. Chapter 5

_There were one or two complaints with the last chapter about Finn and Rachel sleeping together, I'm sorry but that was just the way I wrote it, I don't really know why. I hope this makes it up for it and puts me back in your good books. _

_This is the first chapter that has a song in it and just a disclaimer for future chapters I don't own the songs that I use in my stories. Talking about songs, if you have one that you want any of the characters to sing, just leave it in a review or a PM and I'll see what I can do. With all this said, let's get back to the story :')_

A week had gone past and it was Monday morning. Rachel was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital waiting for her name to be called. Puck was sat on her left with her had in his grasped. Rachel had taken her mother's advice and had booked an appointment for the baby, but seeing as she needed a check-up for her head, she killed two birds with one stone by booking them after each other.

She'd called Puck that morning and asked him to accompany her for two reasons. One, her fathers had to go to work and they were really busy and couldn't get time off and two, she knew Puck would want to be there for the baby appointment. Hiram had tried booking time off but when Rachel informed him that Puck would be there he gladly gave up.

"Rachel Berry?" The doctor called out and Rachel carefully stood up. Puck followed her and didn't release her hand. The first appointment was for her head so she was surprised that Puck wanted to come with her.

"I'm not leaving your side," he told her and she nodded. They then followed the doctor into his examination room.

"Is this your boyfriend?" The doctor asked. This was the same doctor that told her she was pregnant.

Rachel looked away from Puck and nodded to the doctor, well it would be true soon. At this, Puck grinned and the doctor began asking Rachel questions and checking her cut.

"I want you to cut your medication down to one of each every morning and night," the doctor told her. Rachel nodded. "And you can return to school after this appointment."

"Yes!" Rachel cheered and the doctor looked at her questioningly. "I just miss my friends," she admitted and his confusion went away.

The doctor bid them goodbye and Rachel took Puck's hand as they walked to the maternity unit and waited for the next appointment. This was the one that scared Rachel more; she was going to be seeing her baby for the first time with the father next to her. She was glad that Puck was here with her, she was comforted by it.

He noticed her shaking and squeezed her hand reassuringly just as a nurse came out and called, "Rachel Berry?"

Calming herself, Rachel stood up and followed the nurse, her hand not letting go of Puck's the whole time until she reached the room.

The nurse motioned for her to lie on the bed and rolled up her shirt slightly. She then noticed Puck hovering close.

"Are you the father?" She asked and Puck nodded. "You can hold her hand if you want."

Puck blushed but stepped forward and took Rachel's hand as she reached out to him.

"This will be cold," the nurse warned and cold it was. The gel was freezing causing Rachel to shiver. The nurse set up the screen and moved the scanner over Rachel's abdomen and for the first time, she saw her baby.

All that was there were a couple of blobs but she knew that in less than nine months, they would be her baby. There was just something that seemed wrong. There was a beating sound that she predicted to be the baby's heart beat but she didn't expect the echo behind.

Having not been to any of Quinn's appointments, Puck didn't know what it was going to be like and was just as confused with the echoing beats.

"Congratulations, Rachel. You're having twins!" The nurse announced and both Puck and Rachel were in too much shock to say anything, which was unusual for both of them. "The due date is May 7th."

The nurse then left a room to sort out a DVD and pictures that Rachel had requested so she could show her parents.

"Do you want to keep them?" Puck asked once she left.

Rachel looked up and nodded. She then quickly filled Puck in with what happened with Quinn and Finn as well as what happened with her and Finn the other day. Jealousy was plastered on his face but he calmed down quickly.

"I guess you have another reason to break up with him then," he said. "Then you can be mine properly."

"I'm already yours Noah," Rachel replied, "But there's something I need to tell you." Rachel then told Puck about what happened that weekend. "I am so sorry; I don't even know why I did it. Everything just felt like it used to be because it was just me and him. But then after he left I felt awful and I hate myself for what I did."

Puck didn't speak for a moment, it was so much for him to take in, being a father to twins and that she was going to keep them. Now it was that she'd slept with Finn two days ago. He took a deep breath before replying, "I'm hurt, I must admit, but he's still technically your boyfriend Rach, you're free to do what you want with him."

"I don't want to be with him though, I feel so stupid," she cried and the tears started to fall.

"Listen, everyone makes mistakes. If you think about it, this is a mistake," he said indicating the surroundings, "People do stupid things but I'm going to forgive you because I love you. We can forget this happened and move on."

"You'd do that for me?" She asked guilt still ran through her system and the tears were still falling.

"I'd do anything for you," he muttered. He leant over and kissed her fully on the lips but regretfully pulled away as the nurse came back.

oOoOo

It was break time when Puck and Rachel arrived at school and they headed to the choir room to meet everyone. No one knew Rachel was going to be back today, she hadn't told them anything. So when she walked into the choir room with Puck behind, her everyone ran over and hugged her.

"Not too loud!" She warned. Yes, her head was much better but she didn't want to risk it.

"We're just so glad your back!" Brittany cried hugging Rachel again.

"Has anyone seen, Finn?" Rachel asked but no one in the group replied. She looked round the room and saw that neither him nor Quinn were there.

Tina then stepped forward and grasped Rachel's hand and pulled her to a seat. "There's something we need to tell you," she admitted and told Rachel what she already knew about Finn and Quinn but for drama's sake, when he walked through the door holding onto Quinn's hand, she yelled at him and broke up with him before running from the room, leaving a very shocked Finn and an extremely worried Quinn behind. Puck made to follow her but Santana put her hand on his chest and followed instead.

The Latina left the room but Rachel had been swallowed up by the other students. Stopping to think for a second, Santana realised that she would have gone to her mother's office. She wasn't quite sure what was going on between Shelby and Rachel but she knew that she would be the first one Rachel would turn to in this situation. She then ran towards the English corridor and when she got to Shelby's office, she saw Rachel being hugged by her mom who was whispering in her ear. Santana walked forwards slowly and was about to make her presence known, as both had their backs to her, when she heard Shelby murmur, "remember the baby."

"What?" Santana gasped at the door.

"Santana?" Rachel turned and saw the Latina stood at the door with shock plastered on her face.

"What baby?" Santana asked.

"It's actually two babies," Rachel muttered quietly. This time it was Shelby who questioned it.

"Two?"

Nodding, the younger girl replied, "Noah and I went to the doctor this morning."

That confirmed Santana's question that she didn't voice, Puck was the dad. Rachel then opened her bag pulled out the ultrasound picture of the babies. The shock faded on both Santana and Shelby's faces as they looked at the picture. For Santana, she was seeing her best friends children, who she decided at this moment were her nieces/nephews, and for Shelby, she was seeing her grandchildren for the first time.

None of them could say anything as the bell rang and it was time for them to part ways. Shelby kissed Rachel on her forehead and left her office to go into her classroom.

"Let's go to Chemistry," Santana said faking enthusiasm to Rachel as she linked her arm with the smaller girl. Rachel nodded and went to take the picture back. "Could I keep it?" Santana asked.

"Sure," Rachel replied, glad that she'd asked for more than one copy. Puck already had one in his wallet. With that, they went to Chemistry with nothing more said on the matter.

oOoOo

Luckily the day passed quickly and it was finally time glee practise and everyone was still buzzing that Rachel was back.

"Welcome back, Rachel," Mr Schuester called as he walked through the door, "Your mom said you were back." He revealed when she looked at him questioningly. Well that's odd, why is he talking to Mom? Rachel wondered.

"Anyone want to start us off?" Mr Schuester asked. He needed a little more time to decide the week's lesson.

"Me and Santana have a song," Quinn announced, "It's for Rachel." Santana looked up and remembered that she and Quinn had prepared a song. She didn't really want to sing it with the blonde anymore with what she had done to Rachel but then she remembered that Puck was the babies' father; Quinn wasn't the only guilty one right now.

"Yeah, we missed you, Rach," Santana said standing up and standing centre with Quinn, "this is for you."

Brad then began playing the keyboard and just after the drums kicked in, Santana and Quinn began to sing.

(**Santana **_Quinn _Both)

"Ooh you make me live  
**Whatever this world can give to me  
It's you you're all I see**  
Ooh you make me live now honey  
Ooh you make me live

_Ooh you're the best friend that I ever had  
I've been with you such a long time  
You're my sunshine and I want you to know  
That my feelings are true  
I really love you  
Oh you're my best friend  
_  
Ooh you make me live

**Ooh I've been wandering round  
But I still come back to you  
In rain or shine  
You've stood by me girl  
I'm happy at home  
You're my best friend**

Ooh you make me live  
_Whenever this world is cruel to me  
I got you to help me forgive_  
Ooh you make me live now honey  
Ooh you make me live

**You're the first one  
When things turn out bad  
You know I'll never be lonely  
You're my only one  
And I love the things  
I really love the things that you do  
You're my best friend**

Ooh you make me live

I'm happy at home_  
You're my best friend  
Oh you're my best friend_  
_Ooh you make me live  
_You you're my best friend."

The two girls finished and Rachel rushed up to them throwing her arms around Santana and then hesitating to hug Quinn. She knew everything about what had happened from her but seeing her and Finn actually together, it broke her heart and she couldn't take it. She started crying but let Quinn wrap her arms around her.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered in Rachel's ear and pulled her close.

"I know, it's just everything," Rachel whispered back and Quinn understood what she meant, having been pregnant before.

"It gets easier," the blonde murmured. She pulled away from Rachel and wiped away her tear. The two then turned and headed back to their seats.

It was after that that Mr Schuester decided the week's assignment. He went to the whiteboard and wrote in big letters, 'FRIENDSHIP!'

"I'm going to pull your names out of the hat in groups of two, and in one case three, and you're going to pick a song to that goes with your friendship," Mr Schuester announced and did just that. After ripping paper up with everyone's names, the groups were picked out as followed: Artie and Sam, Mercedes, Quinn and Brittany, Santana and Kurt, Blaine and Finn, Tina and Mike and finally Puck and Rachel. The latter two were extremely happy at this.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the following day and Rachel was sitting by the piano in the choir room as she had a free period. She had a couple of books in front of her, going through which ones would work well with, not only her and Puck's voices, but one that worked with their friendship. She didn't want to reveal she was pregnant yet, she was planning on waiting a little bit but she was tempted to reveal that there was something going on between her and Puck.

She was just about to start playing one of the pieces on the piano when she heard footsteps behind her. Swivelling round on her seat she saw Finn enter the room and guilt washed over her. She knew she shouldn't have slept with him that weekend but her hormones and feelings were all over the place and she needed to tell him that in some way.

"Rachel, listen-" he began but she cut him off.

"This weekend was a mistake, Finn and I'm sorry. I'm on medication for my head at it makes me confused," she told him.

"I liked this weekend," he muttered.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it should happen," Rachel said stiffly. This was not going how she wanted it to but she couldn't just blurt out that she was pregnant. She needed to, but this was not the right time.

"But-" Finn was cut off again when she put her had up.

"I need to get back to work," she muttered.

Finally knowing when to give up, Finn stood up and made his leave. A few tears slipped down her face but she pretended that he hadn't been there and went back to taking notes on the pieces of music only to feel arms snaking around her waist a couple of minutes later. At first she thought Finn was back but then she recognised the abs she was pressed against.

"Hello, Noah," she murmured and kissed his cheek softly.

"Hello my beautiful Jewish princess," he replied and turned her around in his arms so he could kiss her properly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a song for us to sing," she said.

"I have the perfect one," he revealed and pulled out a book from his bag. "I had to ask your mom if she had it and she did."

The book had the score for 'Stand by Me' and there is no way that someone hasn't heard of that song. She hadn't actually considered this one though but as Puck hummed the bass line and she looked at the lyrics, she realised it was perfect. She needed him to stand by her.

"It's perfect," Rachel said and leant up to kiss him.

"Well look who we have here!" Santana said as she walked into the room. "You two have also stolen my idea." She pointed to the music books in front of them.

Puck went to step backwards but Rachel clutched his arm to stop him, "she knows," she muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, and I totally think you should name one after me!" She laughed.

Rachel told Santana and Puck about Finn and they both agreed that she did the right thing and started to discuss when they should announce the pregnancy. There were a couple of problems. There was the fact that they'll have to cover up the fact that Rachel cheated on Finn but because she was having twins, and she was four weeks gone, she would start to show in the next couple of weeks.

"Two weeks, that's when I think you should tell," Santana suggested, "because then you can say you were mad at Finn and slept with Puck."

"I guess that would work," Rachel replied, "but I slept with Finn last week, he'll think it's his." At this, Puck's face was plastered with jealousy and she immediately felt guilty. Fortunately, he had forgiven her but she was going to make it up to him at some point. She just didn't know when or how right not.

"Just say you started your period the day after meaning you weren't pregnant," Santana shrugged.

"Yeah, but isn't two weeks too early to suspect pregnancy?" Puck asked shocking the girls that he'd actually paid attention in Biology.

"Oh, shit!" Rachel sighed.

"Yeah, but this is Rachel," Santana replied looking directly at her best friend, "you'd want to make sure that you weren't so you went to the docs tor a test. Tadaa!" Santana cheered realising that that was totally plausible.

The bell then rang and Puck kissed Rachel sweetly before going to Math and Santana and Rachel leaving for English.

oOoOo

Glee came round sooner than later but Rachel was glad, she needed something to take her mind off of Finn, even though she knew he'd be there. She dawdled on the way there but once there, she saw that he was sat in the back right corner with Sam and Mike with Tina and Mercedes sat in front. She looked to the front left and saw Puck and Santana sat with an empty chair between them. The Latina looked up and smiled at Rachel and nodded to the chair next to her. Rachel skipped forward and sat in between the two as Brittany bounced into the room and sat on the spare chair at the other side of Santana and kissed her girlfriend hello.

The conversations got louder between everyone until they heard a guitar humming and Mr Schuester walked from his office into the choir room followed by Shelby and the two began to sing.

(**Will **_Shelby _Both)

**What would you do if I sang out of tune,  
Would you stand up and walk out on me.  
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,  
And I'll try not to sing out of key.**  
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm,I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.  
  
**Do you need anybody?  
**_I need somebody to love._  
**Could it be anybody?**  
_I want somebody to love._

_What do I do when my love is away?_  
**(Does it worry you to be alone?)  
**_How do I feel by the end of the day?_  
**(Are you sad because you're on your own?)  
**No, I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, gonna to try with a little help from my friends

_Do you need anybody?_  
**I need somebody to love.**  
_Could it be anybody?_  
**I want somebody to love.**

_Would you believe in a love at first sight?  
_**Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time.**_  
What do you see when you turn out the light?  
_**I can't tell you, but I know it's mine.  
**Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Oh, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends  
  
**Do you need anybody?  
**_I just need someone to love.  
_**Could it be anybody?  
**_I want somebody to love  
_  
Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends,  
Mmm, gonna try with a little help from my friends  
Ooh, I get by with a little help from my friends  
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends,  
with a little help from my friends (A/N I know it's get high but I don't want Will and Shelby promoting drugs :))

Everyone began the round of applause and Puck even whistled.

"Thank you," Mr Schuester said once the clapping died down. "I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. I'd give a demonstration of this week's assignment and I'd introduce our new member of New Directions. For those who don't know, this is Shelby Corcoran!"

"Hello," Shelby said timidly. She hadn't told Rachel that Will had asked her to join.

"I thought seeing that Shelby is a four time National Champion coach she would be a great addition to the team. She's going to be a co-director and help me with songs and routines," Mr Schuester informed everyone.

"This is great!" Rachel said and ran forward to hug her mom. "We get more time together now!"

Just as Rachel leant back from her mom, she got the sudden urge to throw up and ran out of the room, Shelby and Puck followed her to the bathroom.

"Is she okay?" Mercedes asked. Puck had yet to tell her about the babies.

"Probably something she ate at lunch," Santana replied quickly shrugging, that was plausible with the cooking staff at McKinley.

"Then why's Puck gone with her?" This time it was Finn who asked the question.

"Because he actually cares about her," Santana snapped before registering what she just said.

"Are they together?" Finn questioned.

"It's not for me to say," Santana said quickly. Rachel and Puck were going to kill her.

"Right everyone, time to practice your songs," Mr Schuester announced. Fortunately, Rachel and Puck were paired so everyone still had their partner.

oOoOo

Rachel got to the toilet in the nick of time and heaved, her lunch came spewing out all over the toilet seat. She then heard the clattering of heels and heavy footsteps and felt someone hold her hair back and someone else rub the bottom of her back.

"It's okay," Shelby whispered, "get it all out."

It took several minutes of heaving before all the sick was out. Puck ran some tissue under the tap and wiped Rachel down while Shelby cleaned the toilet seat.

"That was the vilest thing ever!" Rachel cried.

"You're gonna have to get used to it," Shelby replied as she stroked Rachel's hair. "I had three months of chucking at least twice a day with you."

"Yikes," Rachel groaned.

"Want to go back, Princess?" Puck asked. Rachel nodded and took his hand and the three went back to the choir room.

Everyone was spread out and was humming different melodies. Mercedes, Quinn and Brittany were going through dance steps, Artie and Sam were discussing with the band and Tina and Mike were sat by the piano working out a harmony.

"You two can join Santana, Kurt, Blaine and Finn in the auditorium if you like," Mr Schuester offered. "Shelby can go with you."

The three nodded and they walked down to the auditorium, Rachel had not yet let go of Puck's hand.

Once there they saw Santana and Kurt working on choreography and Blaine was sat at the piano teaching Finn the notes. It was Finn who spotted the three walking onto the stage first.

"What's that?" He demanded pointing to Rachel and Puck's intertwined hands.

"Hands," Puck replied gruffly, "Flunking Biology again, Hudson?"

"I know what hands are," Finn sneered, "I want to know why you're holding hands with my girl!"

"I'm not yours!" Rachel replied, speaking for the first time. Santana and Kurt then rushed over to the confrontation.

"You lied to me Santana!"

"No I didn't," Santana said. "I just didn't tell you the truth." The Latina saw the panic in Rachel's eyes, "He asked if you were together," she reassured her best friend.

"Why, what else are you keeping from me?" Finn asked.

"Nothing," Rachel answered hastily. She was not ready to announce the pregnancy.

"That had better be the truth," he threatened.

"That's enough!" Shelby ordered, "Get back to your work."

She and Santana gave Rachel a reassuring smile which she returned. Puck then walked off the stage and picked up his guitar and motioned that Rachel should follow him. He led her to the director's table and they sat there and he started playing the chords through and Rachel sang along. Puck then joined in with a couple of harmonies as he played. Once they'd gone through it a couple of times they'd figured out who was singing what and their harmonies were almost perfect.

Shelby wandered between the three pairs and was surprised by the different songs they were doing. Santana and Kurt were singing a popular song and it suited their voices well despite the differences between them. Blaine and Finn were singing a classic friendship song that was fond in her heart. She had to be sneaky when she listened to Puck and Rachel. She knew how her daughter would react to her singing so she snuck up behind quietly. Both were too engrossed with the singing that they didn't notice that she was there. As she walked away, she wiped a tear away, they were simply beautiful.

Before everyone knew it, it was getting close to half four and it was time to pack everything away. Puck took Rachel's hand again as they walked to the stage but Rachel got the uncomfortable feeling again and ran to the bathroom with Puck following her quickly. Shelby ran after them and the two helped Rachel as they did before and then walked back to the choir room.

"Everyone in here has done perfectly and I think some can do their performances tomorrow, how's yours?" Mr Schuester asked as Shelby walked up to him.

"Yeah, I can say the same. Everyone sounds so much better than they did at regionals two years ago and you are going to take Nationals by storm and I mean what I say," Shelby replied.

"Right guys, you can go," Mr Schuester announced and the teens all rushed out of the room.

Shelby hung back to help Will with the finishing touches to put the room back to how it was before.

"So what are you doing this Friday?" Will asked. Ever since Holly had dumped him, he was feeling alone. Emma had run back to Carl and apologised and the two were happier than ever. With Shelby returning, the spark he felt when they last met came back.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Will Schuester?" Shelby wondered aloud.

Will then stood up and pulled her close, "Yes I am, Shelby Corcoran," he replied.

"Then I'll have to say yes," she said and wasted no time in pulling his head down to hers and kissing him. "I'll get Rachel and Noah to babysit Beth." It'll give them practise, she added in her head.

"What's going on between them?" Will asked.

"I'll tell you on Friday," Shelby replied and kissed him again before saying goodbye and collecting her bag to leave, already counting down the minutes to their date.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a rough day for Rachel the next day; she was up and down to the bathroom and back multiple times. Fortunately for Rachel, she had Puck, Santana or Quinn in her lessons that followed her and helped her clean up afterwards. She got many funny looks from the other students but as she had two cheerios and a jock with her, with one look they shut up and left her alone.

Rachel was thankful when Glee Club and was sat at the back when Puck walked in. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he took no time in crossing the room and kissing her.

"Are they together?" Artie muttered to Mercedes.

"I think so," Mercedes replied and smiled at Puck.

Soon the rest of the members walked in and were followed by Shelby and Will, the latter clapping his hands to bring order to everyone.

"Now, Shelby and I have discussed that today we will listen to three performances but you won't have to nominate yourself. We have one name from each group in the hat and that's how it's going to be decided," Mr Schuester announced holding up the hat in question.

"Yes, and then we'll decide which one of those will go through to the final on Friday. The winners will get a free meal at breadsticks," Shelby continued.

The class cheered before splitting up and getting a last minute practise before they all walked down to the auditorium ready for the first performances.

Everyone had changed into the outfits they were going to be wearing for the performances, most were simple, even Kurt wasn't in something that was his usual extravagance. Santana had been able to rein him in, she was wearing a black dress and Kurt was in black skinny jeans and a black shirt.

Tina and Mike were also in black skinny jeans but were wearing multi-coloured tops. Brittany, Mercedes and Quinn had gone all out and were wearing bright coloured dresses, Mercedes in yellow, Quinn in pink and Brittany in blue. Blaine and Finn were in dress trousers and white shirts with, obviously for Blaine, a red bow tie. Rachel and Puck were wearing casual jeans, she had a baby blue tank top with a navy blue blazer and puck was wearing a matching blue shirt.

The two that made everyone almost cry with laughter were Artie and Sam. Artie was wearing a cowboy outfit with the stirrup boots and Sam was in a Buzz Lightyear suit fit with the wings. It was no surprise which song they had picked to sing.

"Without further ado, the first group to sing is," Mr Schuester announced and then Shelby pulled a folded piece of paper out of the bag and handed it to Mr Schuester. "Artie and Sam!"

Sam helped Artie onto the stage and got in their positions. The intro of the song kicked in and the two began to sing.

(**Artie **_Sam _Both)

"**You've got a friend in me  
You've got a friend in me  
When the road looks rough ahead  
And you're miles and miles  
From your nice warm bed  
You just remember what your old pal said  
Boy, you've got a friend in me  
Yeah, you've got a friend in me  
**  
_You've got a friend in me  
You've got a friend in me  
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too  
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you  
We stick together and can see it through  
Cause you've got a friend in me  
You've got a friend in me_

_Some other folks might be  
A little bit smarter than I am  
Bigger and stronger too  
Maybe_  
**But none of them will ever love you  
The way I do, it's me and you  
Boy, and as the years go by  
Our friendship will never die  
You're gonna see it's our destiny**  
You've got a friend in me  
You've got a friend in me  
You've got a friend in me"

There wasn't much choreography they just walked around on the stage and did jazz hands but it was fun to watch. Everyone clapped along and clapped louder when they'd finished. Mercedes ran up to Sam and hugged him.

"You were brilliant," she murmured and kissed him on his cheek.

"It was for you," he replied and everyone 'awed'.

The next group up was Quinn, Mercedes and Brittany.

"It's time to get this party started," Brittany yelled and the band kicked in.

(**Mercedes** _Quinn __**Brittany **_All)

**Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want  
**_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_  
**I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want  
**_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want  
_**I wanna,**_** (ha)**_** I wanna, **_**(ha)**_** I wanna, **_**(ha)**_** I wanna**_**, (ha)**_**  
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah  
**_  
If you want my future, forget my past  
If you wanna get with me, better make it fast_  
_**Now don't go wasting my precious time  
Get your act together we could be just fine  
**_  
**I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want**  
_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want  
_**I wanna, **_**(ha) **_**I wanna, **_**(ha)**_** I wanna, **_**(ha) **_**I wanna, **_**(ha)**_**  
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah**  
If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends_**  
**__(Gotta get with my friends)_  
Make it last forever, friendship never ends  
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give  
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is

**Oh, what do you think about that  
Now you know how I feel  
Say, you can handle my love, are you for real  
**_(Are you for real)_**  
**_**I won't be hasty, I'll give you a try  
If you really bug me then I'll say goodbye**_**  
**  
**Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want**  
_So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_  
**I wanna, **_**(ha) **_**I wanna, **_**(ha)**_** I wanna,**_** (ha) **_**I wanna, **_**(ha)**_**  
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah**

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends  
_(Gotta get with my friends)_  
Make it last forever, friendship never ends  
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give  
_(You've got to give)_  
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is

_**So, here's a story from A to Z  
You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully  
**_**We got San in the place who likes it in your face  
You got T like Rachie who likes it on a...**  
_Easy B doesn't come for free, she's a real lady_  
**And as for me, ha you'll see**

Slam your body down and wind it all around  
Slam your body down and wind it all around

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends  
_(Gotta get with my friends)_  
Make it last forever, friendship never ends  
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give  
_(You've got to give)_  
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is

_If you wanna be my lover_  
_**You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta**_  
_**Slam, slam, slam, slam**_ _(make it last forever)___

Slam your body down and wind it all around  
Slam your body down and wind it all around  
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha  
Slam your body down and wind it all around  
Slam your body down and **zigazig ah**  
If you wanna be my lover

The auditorium erupted in cheers and Sam, Finn and Santana ran up to their girlfriends and hugged them tightly.

"You were amazing, B!" Santana cried and kissed Brittany fiercely.

There wasn't a moment in the routine where they were stood still; they were dancing their way through.

"Well done girls!" Shelby cheered and shared a knowing look with Mr Schuester; it looked like this group would be going through to the final if the next group didn't do any better.

The final group to perform for today was Finn and Blaine.

"You know we're gonna win," Finn said cockily to everyone and Blaine smiled slightly. He knew they wouldn't, the girls were fabulous.

(**Blaine** _Finn_ Both)

**When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand  
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.  
Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.**

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am  
I'll come running to see you again.  
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,  
you've got a friend.

_If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds  
and that old north wind should begin to blow,  
keep your head together and call my name out loud.  
Soon I will be knocking upon your door._

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am  
I'll come running to see you again.  
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there.

**Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold.**  
_They'll hurt you and desert you. Well, they'll take your soul if you let them,  
oh yeah, but don't you let them._

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am  
I'll come running to see you again.  
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, Lord, I'll be there, yeah, yeah,  
you've got a friend. You've got a friend.  
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.  
Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend.

Quinn and Kurt ran to their boyfriends and hugged them but they both knew that the girls had won this round fair and square.

"You were better than me," Finn murmured in Quinn's ear.

"Maybe so," she joked, "but you still did extremely well."

It was just unfortunate that as Finn leant down to kiss Quinn, Rachel's sickness urge came back and she quickly ran out of the room with Puck and Santana hot on her heels.

"That's just pathetic," Finn cried. "I can kiss my girlfriend if I want to."

"It's not her fault that she's sick," Quinn snapped.

"Oh yeah?"

"She's just not feeling well," Shelby stepped in making sure Quinn didn't slip. Quinn looked round and Shelby glared at her. Realising what she said, Quinn looked to the floor guiltily, but then looked up again and kissed Finn anyway.

oOoOo

"I hate you, Noah," Rachel stated as Santana hugged her.

"You love me," Puck scoffed and walked over to Rachel, snaking his arms around her.

"Not right now," she murmured. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled his head down so she could kiss him.

"Let's go," Santana murmured.

When the three got back there were a few people looking their way but they ignored them. Santana went and sat next to Brittany and Rachel and Puck filed in after her.

"Now everyone's back, we can announce the winner," Mr Schuester said.

"Yes, we've discussed it and have come to a decision," Shelby continued.

"The winners of this heat, and going through to Friday's final, are Quinn, Mercedes and Brittany!" Mr Schuester announced.

The three girls jumped up and cheered with everyone else clapping. Both Sam and Finn were a little disappointed but congratulated their girlfriends on their win.

After the announcement, everyone got changed back into what they were wearing and started heading off.

"Rach, can I talk to you for a sec?" Shelby asked before Rachel could follow Puck to his car.

"I'll meet you by truck," Puck said and kissed Rachel on the temple.

Rachel sat down next to her mom on the stage and looked up, "What's up?"

"I have a date on Friday," Shelby revealed, "I was wondering if you and Noah could look after Beth for me."

"I'd love to!" Rachel cried. "Who's the date with?"

"That's a secret," Shelby replied quickly and blushed as Mr Schuester had just walked back into the auditorium, he was actually looking for Shelby.

"I hope you and Mr Schuester have fun!" Rachel said and smiled to her mom before hugging her and going to Puck's truck to go home.

Shelby stood up and walked over to Will who wasted no time in pulling her close and kissing her.

"That went well," he murmured against her lips.

"Yes it did," she replied and kissed him again, neither left the auditorium for a while.

_Thanks for the reviews, you guys are AMAZING! So the next in the next chapter the pregnancy is revealed but so is something else that you won't be able to guess. I know some will be disappointed but this is the way I've written it. By the way, I've started college now so the updates may not be as regular but I will try. Thanks again and I'll talk to y'all later :'D_


	8. Chapter 8

The day after was mostly the same for Rachel except she didn't throw up quite as much, for which she was thankful. There were a couple of funny looks her way but that wasn't unusual. She got many double looks for many reasons. One was that her fashion sense was still different to last year, choosing to wear jeans and tank tops instead of the animal sweaters and thick tights. She was always in the company of Puck too and usually Santana, which also meant Brittany. She spent some of her time with Quinn but their relationship was still a little touchy because of Finn. She was fortunate for when glee club came and was ready to perform with Puck. They'd been practising at her house the night before and her dads said they sounded perfect together.

"Hello, everyone," Mr Schuester greeted as he and Shelby walked into the auditorium. Since they were doing the performances in there, they'd met in there to save time. Those who didn't perform yesterday were in their costumes too.

"So we still have, Tina and Mike, Santana and Kurt and Noah and Rachel to perform," Shelby said and she pulled the paper out of the hat again. "Santana, Kurt, you're first."

"This is how you perform," Santana announced. Smiling at each other confidently, the two got up to the stage and started their performance.

(**Santana **_Kurt_ Both)

"**You have my heart  
And we'll never be worlds apart  
May be in magazines  
But you'll still be my star  
**_Baby cause in the dark  
You can't see shiny cars  
And that's when you need me there  
With you I'll always share_  
Because  
  
When the sun shines, we'll shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever  
Said I'll always be a friend  
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end  
Now that it's raining more than ever  
Know that we'll still have each other  
You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my umbrella  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh)_  
**Under my umbrella**  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh)_  
**Under my umbrella**  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh)_  
**Under my umbrella**  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)_

_These fancy things, will never come in between  
You're part of my entity, here for Infinity  
_**When the war has took it's part  
When the world has dealt it's cards  
If the hand is hard, together we'll mend your heart  
**Because**  
**  
When the sun shines, we'll shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever  
Said I'll always be a friend  
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end  
Now that it's raining more than ever  
Know that we'll still have each other  
You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my umbrella  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)  
_  
**You can run into my arms  
It's OK don't be alarmed  
Come here to me**  
_There's no distance in between our love  
So go on and let the rain pour  
I'll be all you need and more  
_Because

When the sun shines, we'll shine together  
Told you I'll be here forever  
Said I'll always be a friend  
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end  
Now that it's raining more than ever  
Know that we'll still have each other  
You can stand under my umbrella  
You can stand under my umbrella  
_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh)  
_**Under my umbrella  
**_(Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)  
_  
It's raining  
Ooh baby it's raining  
Baby come here to me  
Come here to me  
It's raining  
Oh baby it's raining"

Their dancing was in sync and there wasn't a foot wrong. Their voices wouldn't usually be put together but they managed to make the song work between them and the harmonies were flawless. Brittany and Blaine ran up to hug their other halves and congratulated them.

"Tina, Mike, it's you," Mr Shuester announced holding up the paper saying Tina.

Mike took Tina's hand and kissed her on her cheek before they started their song.

(**Tina **_Mike_ Both)

"**You and I must make a pact  
We must bring salvation back,  
**Where there is love, I'll be there. (I'll be there)  
  
**I'll reach out my hand to you  
I'll have faith in all you do.  
**Just call my name and I'll be there. (I'll be there)  
  
_I'll be there to comfort you,  
Build my world of dreams around you,  
I'm so glad that I found you._

**I'll be there with a love that's strong,  
I'll be your strength,  
I'll keep holdin' on. (holdin' on)  
Yes I will**_  
_  
_Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter,  
Togetherness, girl, is all I'm after,  
_Whenever you need me, I'll be there. (I'll be there)  
  
_I'll be there to protect you, (yeah baby)  
With unselfish love that respects you.  
_Just call my name, I'll be there. (I'll be there)  
  
**I'll be there to comfort you,  
Build my world of dreams around you,  
I'm so glad that I found you.**

I'll be there with a love that's strong,  
I'll be your strength,  
I'll keep holdin' on.  
Oh oh oh  
Yes I will (holdin' on, holdin' on)  
Yes I will

_If you should ever find someone new  
I know he better be good to you  
Cause if he doesn't  
I'll be there (I'll be there)  
_  
**Don't you know baby I'll be there  
I'll be there I'll be there  
**  
Just call my name, I'll be there (I'll be there)  
Just look over your shoulders honey! Oh!  
I'll be there, I'll be there,  
Whenever you need me, I'll be there (I'll be there)

Don't you know baby,  
I'll be there, I'll be there  
Just call my name, I'll be there (I'll be there)  
Oh oh oh oh I'll be there, I'll be there"

The two finished their performance with a sweet kiss and everyone clapped. Their dancing was also flawless; the way they moved together was breath taking.

"So finally, Puck and Rachel," Mr Schuester announced and Puck held Rachel's hand as they walked up on the stage.

"I'd like to say something before we begin," Puck said and fear flicked into Rachel's eyes. Puck shook his head slightly and Rachel calmed down. For a moment, she thought he was going to reveal the pregnancy.

"As some of you have been wondering and were too afraid to ask, we'll clear some things up. Yes, me and Rachel have begun dating, but we're taking it slow," Puck told everyone and they all smiled. Sam even called, "Congratulations."

The base then kicked in and they started to sing.

(**Rachel **_Puck _Both)

"**When the night has come  
And the land is dark  
And the moon is the only light we'll see  
No I won't be afraid  
Oh, I won't be afraid  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me**

So darling, darling  
Stand by me, oh stand by me  
Oh stand, stand by me  
Stand by me

_If the sky that we look upon  
Should tumble and fall  
All the mountains should crumble to the sea  
I won't cry, I won't cry  
No, I won't shed a tear  
Just as long as you stand, stand by me  
_  
And darling, darling  
Stand by me, oh stand by me  
Oh stand now, stand by me  
Stand by me  
  
**So darling,**_ darling_  
Stand by me, oh stand by me  
Oh stand now, stand by me, stand by me  
Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me  
Oh stand by me, oh won't you stand now, stand  
Stand by me"

Everyone then stood up and clapped. The positive moment came tumbling down when Brittany spoke: "Aww, it's so cute, because he'll be standing by you with the babies!"

"What babies?" Finn questioned. His smiled quickly faded and a snarl replaced it. "Are you pregnant?" He demanded pointing to Rachel.

"Yes," Rachel replied timidly as the tears started to fall.

"How far are you? Be honest with me!"

"A month…"

"You cheated on me with HIM!" Finn cried pointing at Puck. "Santana's party."

Rachel could only nod.

"She's not the only cheat, Finn. You weren't really sick on the night of my party. You were with Carly Cross! You'd been cheating on Rachel with her for all summer and you're still sleeping with her now!" Santana cried and everyone looked at her in shock. "I'm done keeping your secret."

"Everyone needs to calm down," Mr Schuester ordered.

Instead of calming down, Rachel ran off with Puck and Santana following her and Quinn stormed up to Finn and slapped him round the face.

"You're despicable!" She shouted at him and then ran off in Santana's footsteps wiping away her own tears taking Brittany's hand to pull her along.

The group then dispersed, Tina, Mike, Sam, Mercedes and Artie exited the auditorium, Blaine and Kurt went to comfort Rachel and Quinn and Will took Shelby's hand and they went back to the choir room leaving Finn to wallow in self-pity.

Walking into the choir room, Shelby dropped Will's hand immediately and rushed to the back of the room to make sure Rachel was okay. She was sat in Puck's lap with Santana next to her stroking her back. Quinn was sat next to Kurt, sobbing on his shoulder as Blaine rubbed her back trying to calm her down. Brittany was hanging back not knowing what do.

When Rachel heard the distinctive clattering of heels, she looked up and saw her mom.

"Where's Brittany?" She asked. Shelby turned and pointed at the blonde girl. Brittany looked up at the mention of her name and Rachel and the others saw her crying. "Britt come here, sweetie," Rachel requested.

Brittany walked over to Rachel without her usual spring in her step.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "I didn't realise until after I said it."

"It's okay, Britt," Rachel reassured the girl. "You only did what I was too scared to do."

Rachel then stood up off Puck's lap and hugged the taller girl.

"I'm sorry too, to you and to Quinn," Santana announced. "I should have told you both about Finn and Carly but she asked me to keep it secret. Turns out she's pregnant too."

"So that's why she's no longer on a Cheerio," Quinn muttered with tears slipping down her beautiful face and Santana nodded.

Quinn had never felt so stupid. She thought she'd made Finn cheat on Rachel when he was already cheating. Does that mean she was the other women? She didn't know and she didn't want to. All she needed to do now was ignore boys and help Rachel with her pregnancy as much as she could. She would make it up to her friend until she forgave her properly and she couldn't wait for that. She missed her and Rachel's easy friendship before this mess, even though she used to hate the girl, which now she knew was ridiculous.

"Everything will get better soon," Shelby said and everyone believed her.

Rachel then looked back at Puck and whispered, "I want to go home." He nodded and picked up their bags before taking her hand and leading her out of the room toward the parking lot. The other teenagers then grabbed their bags and followed.

"Hopefully there will be a week without any drama!" Will sighed to Shelby after they all left.

"But it wouldn't be high school then," Shelby replied and took his hand. "I'll tell you a good thing about today though."

"What's that?" Will asked.

"Tomorrow's Friday."

They smiled at each other before leaning closer and kissing. Shelby then picked up her bag and waved goodbye to Will before leaving the room. Will picked up his bag and turned out the lights, his smile not leaving his face. Maybe it's time for his happy ending.

_Please don't hate me…Thanks for all the reviews and favourites, you're all amazing and I love you!_


	9. Chapter 9

Friday: the day everybody had been waiting for. The atmosphere in the school was light and the feeling of the weekend was upon them.

As Puck drove into the parking lot, he spotted Mercedes perching on the railings outside looking directly at his truck. She looked hurt but also like she meant business. He realised now that he shouldn't have ignored her messages and calls last night. He knew he should have told her about Rachel but he didn't think she'd take it this badly.

"I'll meet you in the choir room in a few," Puck said to Rachel. The two slipped out the car and after a short kiss, Rachel turned left and headed to the front door while Puck walked forward to meet Mercedes.

"Hey mama," he said jokily, trying to defuse the tension.

"You didn't answer your phone all night," she stated.

"I know and I'm sorry," he replied.

"You also didn't tell me about Rachel but Brittany knew. Everyone knows Britt can't keep secrets," Mercedes sighed. She had a point.

"We didn't tell Britt, it must have been Santana," Puck said. "Only the Glee club knows. It's not like you're the last one."

"Just one of the last. You're my best friend, Puck, I thought you trusted me!"

"I do, it's just Rachel didn't want anyone to know yet. She told Quinn because she needed her help. Santana found out because she overheard a conversation between Rachel and Shelby," Puck informed her.

"You'd better tell me things in future, Puckerman," Mercedes threatened jokily but she smiled and offered him her hand. He was off the hook for now. The two then made their way towards the choir room. However, when they arrive, hell had already broken loose.

Kurt and Blaine were trying to hold back a hysteric Rachel and Sam was trying to keep back Quinn; both girls were trying to attack a tall brunette girl at the other side of the room. Finn had his arms around her trying not to let her punch the other two girls. There was a lot of shouting but Puck couldn't make out what was being said, though there was some Spanish being yelled from Santana who was being held back by Brittany. He knew who the girl in Finn's arms was though, she was Carly Cross and it looked like she and Finn had come out in the open.

"You bastard!" Rachel cried at Finn.

"You're just a slut!" Quinn shouted at Carly.

With this, Finn let go of Carly and the two started rushing forward only for Mike and Blaine to run forward to block their paths.

"What in God's name is going on?!" Puck yelled in attempt to get everyone's attention. He turned to Mercedes, who nodded and ran off to find Mr Schuester.

"He wants that thing to join Glee club!" Rachel informed him. "Like hell that's going to happen."

"She has no one else," Finn replied, "You should know how that feels. You're both pregnant!"

"And whose fault is that?" Quinn yelled pointed to Finn.

Just then, Mercedes ran back into the room with Shelby and Mr Schuester behind her.

"Silence!" Mr Schue yelled and everyone shut up. "Sit!" He ordered and everyone took their seats. Finn pulled Carly to sit with him and the rest of the team tried to sit as far away from the two as possible.

"Finn, explain." Shelby demanded.

"Carly has no one else, she's had to quit the Cheerios and everyone has fallen out with her. I thought she could join our family for protection and fun."

"Why have you quit?" Shelby asked.

"I'm pregnant," Carly mumbled. "Finn's the father."

"Are you sure about that? He has a track record of not being manly enough to knock someone up," Puck sneered.

"I'm quite sure; I've not slept with anyone else," Carly admitted.

Silence fell upon the group again as Mr Schuester and Shelby discussed what they should do. On one hand, Mr Schuester had a policy of 'who ever auditions gets in' which meant Carly should be allowed in but then there's the fact that Finn cheated on both Rachel and Quinn with her and ended up getting her pregnant. There was only so much drama he could take. Shelby made a point saying that this would cause both girls stress and it could cause harm to the babies.

"I think you should audition on Monday and we'll take it from there," Mr Schuester decided. Carly nodded and ran out of the room with Finn following her quickly.

The group then dispersed ready for the first lesson of the day. Tina, Sam, Blaine and Artie headed to American History, Mike, Brittany and Quinn headed to Math, Kurt, Santana and Rachel headed to English and Mercedes and Puck went to European Geography. Shelby followed Kurt and the girls for English and Will headed to his Spanish room to prepare for his first class.

Luckily for them all, the rest of the day wasn't as chaotic.

oOoOo

Rachel wasn't in the mood for Glee club at the end of the day and, after sending a quick text to her mom saying where she was going, she grabbed Puck and asked him to take her home. They weren't the only two who skipped going to Glee that afternoon with Quinn and Finn not turning up either. However, Mr Schuester still announced the winners of the free Breadsticks meal and that went to Kurt and Santana. Mr Schuester then said they could take their other halves with them to make it even more fun.

When Rachel and Puck got to Rachel's house they sat on the sofa, put in a movie and Rachel snuggled into his side. They stayed like that for two movies straight, Rachel dozing off part way through the second movie. However, she was jolted awake when her phone started to ring.

"Hello?" She answered groggily.

"Hey, Honey, you still okay to babysit?" Shelby's voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, what time do you need us?"

"Twenty minutes or so?"

"Okay, see you then, Mom."

"Bye, Sweetie."

Rachel then hung up the phone and told Puck what Shelby had said. They gently got up and put their shoes on. Rachel left a note on the fridge for her dads before they left and got into Puck's truck.

Shelby lived about fifteen minutes away from Rachel in a new apartment block. Rachel was yet to go there but Puck had been as he cleans the pool there and he's babysat Beth previously. This was the first time that Rachel would meet Beth and she was actually nervous, what about if she was a bad sister to Beth? There was also the fact that Beth is also Puck's daughter.

The nerves had grown by the time they arrived and Rachel was visibly shaking.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Puck asked as he turned off the ignition. "This is your mom."

"Yeah, but it's your daughter," she murmured timidly.

"Biologically, yes but physically no," he replied and took her hand. "Beth is Shelby's daughter. My children are in your stomach, I am going to be their dad from the beginning to the end. I love Beth but she isn't my daughter anymore." He pulled her close and kissed her forehead and then jumped out the truck and took her hand.

They walked together up to Shelby's apartment door and knocked. Shelby opened the door almost straight away and both the teenagers gasped.

"Mom, you look beautiful!"

"Thank you," she replied timidly and let them in. Shelby was in a simple black dress that hugged her curves and stopped just above the knee. She'd replaced her usual boots with stilettoes. Her hair was straight but her eyes were smoky, emphasising her brown pupils.

Rachel looked round the apartment and it had Shelby written all over it. There was a mix of modern and vintage with the furniture and the art on the walls. The colour scheme was brown and cream but there were multi-coloured toys littering most of the place. Looking over to the sofa, Rachel saw a crib in front and in there, playing with a couple of stuffed animals, was a blonde headed toddler.

"I'll introduce you," Shelby said noticing where Rachel was looking. After walking over to the crib, she leant down and picked up the baby and placed her on her hip. "Beth, meet your big sister, Rachel."

Beth looked up at Rachel and smiled at her and Rachel couldn't help but smile back. Beth then reached her hands out in a grabby motion towards Rachel and squirmed in her mother's arms.

"She wants you to hold her. Is that okay?" Shelby asked.

"It's fine," Rachel replied and she stretched her arms out. Shelby placed the toddler in Rachel's arms and Beth immediately laid her head on her sister's shoulder.

"She likes you," Shelby said and smiled at her two daughters together. "She's only like this with me. She didn't even want Noah to hold her at first."

Puck laughed at the memory, "Yeah, I had to play with the teddies before she let me touch her."

Their conversation was interrupted when there was a knock on Shelby's door. The once calm Shelby disappeared and she was replaced by a giggling school girl. Kicking a toy out of her way, she walked up the door and opened it to reveal Will.

"You look beautiful, Shelby!" He said in awe.

"As do you," she replied. Will then stepped forward and wasted no time slipping his hand into her hair and leaning down for a kiss.

Not realising Rachel and Puck were already there, he quickly stepped back when they both 'awed' at him.

"You never said you were going out with Mr Schuester!" Puck said in shock.

"You never asked," Shelby replied jokily. "We'll be back around eleven." She stepped back from Will and placed a kiss to both Rachel and Beth's heads before smiling, taking Will's hand and leaving.

"Did you know she was going out with Mr Schue?" Puck asked as he took Rachel's hand and led her to the sofa.

"Yeah, I figured it out the other day," Rachel replied. "I think it's cute."

"What about the fact that he could be your step dad one day?" He teased.

At this, Rachel shivered. Sure, Mr Schuester was a great guy and he was perfect for her mom but she didn't want to start thinking of him as her dad yet. Puck just laughed before kissing her.

They spent the rest of the night mostly in each other's arms playing with Beth and her toys, reading Beth a bedtime story, singing her to sleep or just talking quietly trying not to wake the little girl up.

Rachel was also sleepy by ten o'clock and was snuggled into Puck's shoulder as they watched another movie. She had her eyes closed and was breathing evenly.

Thinking she was asleep, Puck kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear, "You'll be a great mom, baby."

She didn't saying back but smiled and fell asleep dreaming of her and Puck with their babies in their arms.

oOoOo

Shelby was home bang on eleven but entered her apartment quietly and was unsurprised to see Rachel asleep in Puck's arms. Pregnancy takes it out of you and it has to be worse when you're carrying two.

Will entered the apartment behind her and smiled at the couple on the couch too. Shelby had explained everything about Rachel, Puck and the babies. He was disappointed that Puck had basically gotten Rachel pregnant the same way he'd done it with Quinn but he'd seen Puck around school recently and was proud of him. He attended every lesson and completed every set of homework and never missed a rehearsal of glee unless Rachel needed him, like today.

Puck heard the two come in and managed to free himself from the sleeping Rachel and walked over to them.

"Fun night?" He asked.

"It was lovely," Shelby replied. "Thanks for looking after Beth."

"It was no problem, Rachel's a natural at looking after her as well," Puck revealed, "I think she'll be a great mom."

"I bet she will," Shelby whispered.

Puck then said goodbye to Shelby and Will and picked Rachel up and carried her down to his truck. He successfully got her home and in bed before she woke up. She only stirred slightly, whispering, "Noah," before falling back to sleep. He slipped her shoes off and pulled the cover over her before turning out the light and slipping in next to her. Leroy and Hiram had both said previously that he could stay over whenever it got too late for him to drive home. They probably meant for him to sleep in one of the two guest rooms but he was far too tired. He chose instead to sleep next to his girl. They hadn't really spoken about their relationship yet but he loved the direction it was going.

_I still love the response I'm getting. You guys are sooooo great. I have a question or two to ask you. The first is: should the twins be girls, boys or one of each? Also, does anyone have any suggestions for names? It would be great if you could match the name with a middle name of someone in the Glee club. Hope you continue to enjoy my story and I'll talk to you guys later! _


	10. Chapter 10

Unfortunately for everyone, the weekend went in a flash and it was time to go back to school, much to everybody's disappointment. The sky was dull with clouds that threatened to rain and everyone had left their shorts and skirts at home, preferring to don their jeans or joggers. Rachel and Puck were in the group of jeans and the cheerios all donned their trousers under their skirts. As Rachel and Puck walked into the school, they noticed new posters on the walls, all saying, "Join the New Directions." This had never worked before, the posters usually being trashed, but it when they got to the choir room after school, everyone had been proved wrong.

Before that though, they had to put up with school and for Rachel it meant spending the full day without Puck in her lessons. Sure, she'd see him at break and lunch, but it wasn't the same, not really. So she sat at the back of her English lesson first period in between Santana and Kurt with her mother wittering on about something to do with Shakespeare as she took down random notes and thought back to her Saturday morning with Puck.

_She woke to the smell of cooking and slowly opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was watching TV at Shelby's, she must have fallen asleep. Praise to Puck for being able to get her home without waking her up. She then realised that he wasn't in her bed as she thought he would have been. Suddenly, the stench of burning filled her nose and she realised where he was._

_Running down into the kitchen, she saw that Puck was attempting to cook her pancakes. Her heart swelled with love but then the burning got worse. She quickly made her way to the windows and opened them wide before turning the hob off and sliding the pan away from the flame._

"_What did you do?" She asked._

"_I turned my back for one second, one second! And then whoosh, flames!" Puck groaned._

"_Try a lower heat," she replied laughing slightly, "why all the trouble?"_

"_I wanted to do something special for you; I want to talk to you about something."_

_Panic shot through her body but then she realised, he wouldn't go through all of this, preparing and cooking, if he was going to break up with her._

"_What's up?" She wondered as she gently sat on his lap._

"_Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend?" He asked._

"_Well you haven't technically asked me…" She trailed off smiling at him mischievously. _

"_Okay then. Miss Rachel Barbra Berry, will you be my girlfriend?" _

"_It would be my pleasure," she replied and kissed him before he deepened it. They then ran up to her bedroom to continue what they had started._

Rachel was shook out of her daydream when she heard her mother call her name.

"Yes?"

"I asked you a question," Shelby revealed, her hands were on her hips meaning she was pissed off.

"Sorry, I missed it," Rachel admitted quietly.

"I'm aware," Shelby said. "So I'll repeat. What Shakespearian play has a character called Puck who states these lines at the end of the play?" She then pointed to the board:

'Else the Puck a liar call;  
So, good night unto you all.  
Give me your hands, if we be friends,  
And Robin shall restore amends.'

"A Midsummer's Night Dream," Rachel replied. Shelby nodded and went back to her teaching.

Rachel was about to get back into the lesson when the now familiar, but still uncomfortable, feeling swirled in her stomach and she had to run out to be sick with Santana following her as usual. Kurt looked over and saw that Rachel hadn't taken many notes during the lesson. Sighing slightly, he quickly copied out his notes and left them in front of her.

When the girls returned, Rachel saw the addition to her work and smiled at Kurt muttering, "Thanks," before adding to them with what her mother was saying.

The bell rang around fifteen minutes after Rachel and Santana returned and everyone began to pack their things away.

"Rach, a word please," Shelby requested.

"I'll wait," Santana murmured after she and Rachel said their goodbyes to Kurt.

"Mom?"

"I know you're easily distracted at the moment but you need concentrate in lessons so you don't fall behind. I know you can't help it, especially the sickness but you have to try," Shelby said sincerely.

"I'm sorry," Rachel muttered.

"It's okay," Shelby reassured her, "I'm only trying to help."

Rachel then hugged her mom and took Santana's hand before going to their next lesson.

oOoOo

When Rachel and Kurt entered the choir room later that day, there were three newbies stood by the front. There was obviously Carly, who had her audition today, a boy with slightly tanned skin and dreadlocks and another girl with dark blond hair. Rachel hadn't seen the boy before but she'd seen the girl walking round whistling to herself. She then looked over to the drums and saw Finn sitting there talking to Carly.

Walking over to the top corner, Rachel sat on the chair next to Puck and leant on his shoulder as he put his arm round her. Kurt sat on the other side of Rachel and kissed Blaine as he sat next to him. Santana and Brittany entered a couple of minutes later and sat in front of them. Mercedes and Mike joined them as Sam, pushing Artie, was followed by Tina and Quinn entering the room.

Shelby and Mr Schuester were the last to arrive meaning everyone was there.

"I'm glad to see my posters worked," Mr Schuester smiled looking over to the two other newbies. "Welcome, stand forward and introduce yourselves."

The boy with the dreads stepped forward first, "I'm Joe," he said quietly. The dark blond girl stepped forward after him and announced, "I'm Sugar." Joe didn't have as low as a voice as he looked and Sugar had a high pitched voice that would get annoying after a while.

"How about a trio audition?" Mr Schuester suggested. The three nodded and took a microphone and Joe set up his guitar as Finn and the band kicked in with the intro.

(**Carly **_Joe __**Sugar**_ All)(A/N Sugar can sing in this story)

"**Grew up in a small town  
And when the rain would fall down  
I'd just stare out my window  
Dreaming of what could be  
And if I'd end up happy  
I would pray (I would pray)**

_Trying hard to reach out  
But when I tried to speak out  
Felt like no one could hear me  
Wanted to belong here  
But something felt so wrong here  
So I prayed I could break away_

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly  
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky  
And I'll make a wish  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun  
But I won't forget all the ones that I love  
I'll take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
  
_**Wanna feel the warm breeze  
Sleep under a palm tree  
Feel the rush of the ocean  
Get onboard a fast train  
Travel on a jet plane, far away (I will)  
And breakaway  
**_  
**Buildings with a hundred floors  
Swinging around revolving doors  
**_Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but  
__**Gotta keep moving on, moving on  
Fly away, breakaway  
**_'ll spread my wings  
And I'll learn how to fly  
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun  
But I won't forget the place I come from  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway"

Joe definitely had the best voice but unfortunately, Carly had an edge to her voice that was something new and would work well with the New Directions. Sugar's voice was the same as she talked but she could still sing. As much as it pained them, they all deserved to be on the team. Except Joe, it didn't pain them for him, he was actually very good and no one could miss the eye contact he and Quinn shared. Artie also seemed to have his eyes on Sugar.

"Welcome to New Directions," Mr Schuester announced. Carly jumped up and ran to Finn and kissed him before taking his hand and leading him to a seat.

"So Sectionals is coming up in a couple of weeks and we are planning to have a solo, a duet and a group number," Shelby announced. "Any volunteers for the solo?" She asked knowing Rachel would want it and secretly, she wanted her to have it.

On cue, Rachel's hand shot up and surprisingly, so did Carly's. Rachel glared at the other girl before threatening, "You've taken my ex, don't you dare take something I care about!"

"You mean something else you care about?" Carly sneered.

"No, I'd take the solo over him any day," Rachel replied.

"Well, if she gets the solo, can Finn and I have the duet?" Carly asked.

"We've already picked the duet actually and that's Santana and Mercedes, singing 'When You Believe'," Mr Schuester said. At this, both girls cheered and everyone congratulated them. "Rachel you can have the solo but I want it to be a Celine Dion song."

Rachel nodded enthusiastically, "A New Day Has Come?"

"Perfect," Shelby said. "Now we just need an upbeat group number, but we can decide that nearer the time."

"For now, I want groups of four, two girls and two boys, and you're going to practise vocal harmonies," Mr Schuester said and everyone broke up.

Puck and Rachel joined with Mercedes and Sam, Artie and Quinn joined with the newbies, Sugar and Joe, Brittany and Santana went with Kurt and Blaine and finally, Mike and Tina went with Finn and Carly. The atmosphere had calmed down now everyone was doing their own work but it was still tense between Carly and the rest of the team. Hopefully, that will die down but for now, everyone was glad that the family feud had ceased.

_Thanks for all the suggestions for the twins, the names you guys are suggesting are great but I'm still undecided to whether the twins should be one of each or both girls, I've definitely decided that they won't both be boys. Don't forget to keep telling me what you think and what names I should give them; that would be awesome. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites, you guys are actually amazing and are inspiring me to keep writing this. I love you all :'D_


	11. Chapter 11

As usual for McKinley, secrets don't often say secret for very long. There was a group of cheerleaders putting up two different posters. One had a picture of Puck and Rachel the top said, 'Puck and Rachel for parents of the year'. The other poster had the same apart from it was Finn and Carly. In both pictures, the boy had their arms around the girl in front who had a round stomach.

As Rachel walked into the school, she noticed more people were staring and whispering than usual. She knew she should have come in with Puck but he had to take his sister to school with his mom being poorly. She gripped onto her bag tighter and tried to ignore the stares. It was only as she turned the corner to head to her locker that she saw the poster of her and Puck. Tears instantly started to fall and she changed the direction she was going. Moments later she was sat in her mother's office crying onto her shoulder.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Shelby asked rubbing Rachel's back.

"Everyone knows!" Rachel cried and sobbed harder. Between sobs she was able to tell Shelby about the posters.

"It's okay," Shelby said trying to comfort her daughter. "They were going to find out soon, though."

"But it shouldn't have been like this!"

Rachel was right but Shelby didn't know what to do. She didn't know who was behind the posters to punish them but she knew of a way to find out.

"Come on sweetie, we're going to find Will and then we're going to Figgins' office," Shelby said. Nodding, Rachel stood up and wiped the mascara off of her face before following her mother.

Mr Schuester was in his office and agreed to go with Rachel and Shelby to the office. On the way they spotted the posters and Mr Schuester saw a little symbol at the bottom that he recognised.

"I'll meet you in the office, I need to find someone," he said before going down a different corridor.

The two went on to the Principal's office and were unsurprised to see Carly and Finn already there. Carly was sobbing into Finn's shoulder as he argued their point.

Figgins looked up and saw Shelby and Rachel and beckoned them in.

"What can I do for you two ladies?" He asked.

Before either of them could answer, Mr Schuester and Coach Sylvester stormed into the office.

"This imbecile seems to think the posters are my fault!" Sue shouted.

"They have her signature at the bottom corner!" Mr Schuester cried, "You have the whole school bugged, of course you'd find out! You also wanted everyone to know that's why one of your precious cheerio quit the team but you thought it was unfair to just tell on her so you did it to Rachel as well!"

Sue had no words; it was like Will was in her head! But with Sue being Sue, she quickly thought of something to lie her way out of this.

"Like I would do something like that?" She sneered.

"It sounds exactly like something you would do!" Shelby retaliated.

"And how would you know, you don't know me?!"

"I know what my daughter has said and what Will has said."

"Your daughter? I thought you walked out on her," Sue questioned and it hit a nerve. Both Rachel and Shelby shivered but they were spared to answer when Puck charged into the office.

"You selfish bitch!" he yelled at Sue. "I don't care that you did this to me and Finn, we can handle it, but how dare you do this to Rachel and Carly. It's not their fault all this has happened and you just reveal them as sluts. You're disgraceful!"

"I completely agree," Figgins said, speaking for the first time since Sue and Will joined. "Sue, you're suspended until I see fit for you to return."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me. Leave!" Figgins ordered.

"You'll regret this," she shouted before turning and storming out of the room.

She added some new things to her normal tantrum. Like usual, she threw furniture in the secretary's office and ripped paper from students' arms. This time, however, she actually pushed students into other students causing more chaos than normal. At this, Figgins ran out of his office and pulled her away from the students and dragged her out of the school building.

The silence in the office was tense, both Rachel and Carly were still crying slightly with Puck and Finn trying to comfort them. Shelby and Will didn't know what to say or what to do. Knowing the students would want to be alone, Will walked out of the room. Shelby stroked Rachel's forehead and patted Puck on his shoulder before following Will out of the room.

No one was really saying anything, Puck and Finn were whispering into their girlfriend's ears trying to sooth them but it wasn't really working. To everyone's surprised, it was Rachel who spoke out first.

"Carly, I'm not saying I want to be your friend, but seeing as we're in the same position, I think we should at least be civil towards each other."

Carly looked up at the mention of her name, her face mirrored Rachel's in shock, hurt, confusion and above all else, sadness.

"I think so too," she replied. "I didn't mean for Finn to cheat on you or Quinn, I was just upset during summer once and he just happened to be there and there was a spark. I didn't know he was dating you at the time. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'm not exactly innocent either," Rachel muttered.

Nothing else was said as the warning bell went. The two girls ran to the closest bathroom sort their makeup out. Finn motioned to start talking to Puck but the tanned boy shrugged him off and walked to his classroom.

oOoOo

Rachel was faced with whispers and glares everywhere she went, but she was used to it and managed to ignore everyone. She avoided everyone all day and spent lunch time in her mother's office.

"Have you got any names yet?" Shelby asked as they ate their salads.

"No, I'm only a month and a half, so I don't see a reason to start thinking about them now really," Rachel replied and shrugged.

"What's the due date?"

"May 7th."

"That's two weeks before Nationals," Shelby muttered.

"I know," Rachel whispered sadly. She was upset that there was a possibility that she may not be able to compete in her last National competition. If the babies were late then she would be far too pregnant to perform, especially with the fact the babies could come at any second and then there was the fact that if she'd already had them she'd be weak from just giving birth. "I'm going to try to perform." She promised, but they both knew that it was a promise that she couldn't keep.

The conversation changed then and they began talking about random things to pass the time. They spoke about what Shelby had done in New York when she'd been there and what they would do when they went in the future. Rachel had dreams to go to a music university called NYADA. She felt like she wouldn't be able to get in with being pregnant but she had to try.

During their lunch time, Rachel felt her phone buzz but she ignored it. She'd been ignoring her phone all day. She presumed they were all from Puck but she didn't want to be with him at the moment, she didn't want him to be ashamed of her. He didn't deny to being Beth's father when Quinn was carrying her but that was different. He was actually congratulated on being able to sleep with the head cheerleader but this was completely different. Rachel was at the bottom of the food chain of high school, she was pretty sure she was below the geeks. However, there was slight hope of being above the freshmen with being a senior. She was convinced Puck would be ashamed of being outted as being the one who got her pregnant. She loved him so she wasn't going to let him get slushied or bullied because of her.

Shelby heard Rachel's phone buzz though and looked up. "Aren't you going to check that?" She asked.

"No," Rachel replied honestly. "It'll just be Noah."

"Isn't that why you shouldn't answer it?"

Rachel didn't answer; instead she asked her mother a different question. "How did you know he was the father?"

Shelby raised her eyebrow at her daughter but let the fact that Rachel didn't answer drop. Choosing to keep her daughter happy, she answered the question. "I don't know really, he was just frantic when you hit your head. He came into class shouting at me to know what happened, Finn didn't. I then saw him later in the day with Mercedes and he was shocked and panicked and Finn didn't really look bothered. Then when you said you were pregnant, it hit me. That was the reason why Puck was so sad."

"He was sad that I was pregnant?"

"No, he was sad that he'd got you pregnant, he thought you were going to hate him," Shelby admitted. "After you told me, I spoke to him the next day and he told me. He loves you, Rach. Just check your phone."

Defeated, Rachel slipped her phone out of her pocket and was surprised at how many messages were actually there. There was only one from Puck. There were many from Santana, Kurt and Quinn, Mercedes and Tina had also text her. What surprised her the most, was the fact that Finn had text her. She was tempted to ignore it but she decided to open that one first.

**Why are you ignoring Puck, he hasn't done anything? I understand you're hurt but you're killing him. He hasn't even spoken to Mercedes about what's wrong; he's just sat in the corner of the locker room crying. I get you're pissed but if you love him like you say you do, go talk to him.**

She wasn't one to take advice from Finn but when she scanned through the other messages; they were all saying the same thing, except for two people. Puck's simply said: 'I'm so sorry, Baby.' Brittany's text was just strange but when Rachel thought about it, it was from Brittany after all.

**Lord Tubbington is extremely disappointed in you and it takes a lot for him to be angry. He says he'll forgive you if you talk to Puck.**

"I'm going to go find him," Rachel said and hugged her mom goodbye before running to the boy's locker room.

There were many complaints as she hurried through the half-naked boys but she ignored them. She went to the corner Finn had mentioned and he was right. Puck was sat there with his knees up and his arms wrapped around them. His head was tucked down and he was visibly sobbing.

Rachel wasted no time in running towards him and placing her hand on his arm.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," she muttered.

Puck immediately sat up and saw Rachel there. He patted his lap and she sat down there, leaning against his shoulder.

"Don't do that to me," he whispered.

He leant down and she kissed him before explaining her reason for avoiding him.

"Don't ever think that, Rachel," he said seriously. "There's nothing more important to me than you and these babies. I don't give a shit about what other people think. All that matters to me is you!"

"I'm so sorry," she repeated.

"I'm here," he promised and leant down to kiss her again.

The two didn't go to Glee club that afternoon; instead they went back to Puck's house as Rachel was staying for tea. As Puck's mother, Edith, was ill, Puck had to look after her and his sister, Sarah, and with the almost catastrophe at Rachel's house, she decided to go for two reasons: one, she could spend time with her boyfriend and his family and two, she could ensure he didn't burn the house down or give his family members food poisoning.

_So, I've been thinking, should Carly and Finn keep their baby too? Also should it be a boy or a girl? If you have any name suggestions for baby Hudson, don't be afraid to tell me in a review or something. Also, if you have a request for a song for someone to sing, leave that in a review too, I love seeing your suggestions. Thank you!_


	12. Chapter 12

"You know you don't have to cook, Babe. You're the guest," Puck said hugging Rachel from behind as she stirred two different pans whilst checking on the rice at the same time.

"Yes I do because as we both know, you cannot cook," Rachel replied and snuggled into his embrace.

He chuckled slightly and his hands started wandering over her body but just as they were about to kiss, Sarah, Puck's twelve year old sister, burst into the room screaming, "Rachel!" The two teens pulled back from each other and Rachel rushed over to Sarah.

"Hello gorgeous," she greeted pulling her into a hug.

"Hey!" Sarah replied and smiled at Rachel. "I've really missed you."

Rachel was like a big sister to Sarah, she was the first one she turned to when she needed help. There were times when it was a shock to see them apart from each other. All of this changed when Rachel started high school and Puck became a jock and she got bullied. Sarah had yelled at her brother for being mean but he just shrugged her off. The truth was he hated what he was doing but couldn't stop because he didn't want to be in her position. When they started dating in sophomore year, he was happy. He enjoyed being with her but the slushie to the face was just too much so he ended it; he regretted it as soon as it happened but that's life. All he can do now is prove that he'll stay with her and the babies, which is what he wanted, no, needed to do. Rachel was his life and he'd never go back to what he was.

"I'm not going anywhere," Rachel promised.

"Yeah, because you're going to give birth to my nieces/nephews," Sarah said happily.

"Exactly."

Rachel had to turn her attention back to the food now. The rice was almost done and she had a couple of things to add to the chilli. For Puck, Sarah and Edith, she'd prepared a beef chilli; she made Puck chop and start cooking the meat so she didn't have nightmares of the cows coming after her like she'd had the chickens after being egged. She had cooked a tofu version for herself.

Once the meal was cooked, Puck carried a dish to his mother, who was lying on the sofa cover in many blankets to keep her warm and Rachel dished up for her, Sarah and Puck. The meal was quiet, all were enjoying the food. After the meal, Rachel stood and began to clear the pots.

"I'll do that, Rach," Sarah insisted and took the plates out of her hands, "You're pregnant after all."

"I'm not incapable though," Rachel replied.

"You did all the cooking, it's only fair," Sarah shrugged.

"Just let her, Baby," Puck said to Rachel laughing at the two. "Just remember S, your dad will be here in an hour and you're staying there for the night. He'll take you to school in the morning too so take your books."

Sarah nodded and finished the dishes. She and Puck had different fathers; Puck's had walked out on them years ago and Edith and Nigel, Sarah's dad, just didn't work out. It was hard for Puck; he grew up without a man in the house. It was Hiram and Leroy who were the role models for him, which made it worse when he teased Rachel, knowing they would hate him too. They were angry but when he apologised and the two became friends, they forgave him. They were shockingly not angry when Rachel announced he was the father to the babies, they were disappointed, which was much worse. Puck still shivers when he thinks about the conversation that had gone on. Hiram and Leroy wanted to speak to Puck personally before he told his mother about the situation.

_Rachel had text him earlier saying that her fathers wanted to see him regarding the pregnancy. Before he left, he hugged his sister and told her and his mother that he had very important news to tell them when he got home. Sarah insisted that he should tell them now but he told her that he needed to know some details before he could tell her. He knew she was annoyed but she let it drop and he drove to the Berrys' house._

_He took a deep breath and then turned the ignition off and walked up to the door. He raised his fist to knock but the door flew open before he could and there stood Rachel. As soon as she saw him, her face broke out into a bright smile, a smile she does every time she sees him._

"_Hello, Noah," she greeted, "Come in."_

_She stepped back and he stepped over the threshold. Rachel then turned and walked into the kitchen where the two Mr Berrys were sat and they looked like they meant business. The normal cheery Puck was replaced by a very guilty, self-conscious Noah._

"_Sit down, Noah," Leroy commanded and he sat straight away._

"_You're not the only one in trouble but seeing as it was you who was topping up Rachel's alcohol, you're getting most of the blame," Hiram began. Puck nodded in agreement and to show he understood._

"_You know how fond we are of you, Noah; you're a good boy, even if you have had a couple of bad moments." Puck was reminded of the slushies and being in prison for a while and gulped. "But we are highly disappointed in what has happened," Leroy continued._

_Puck nodded his head again and glanced at Rachel. She was biting her bottom lip and had a similar guilty expression he was holding._

"_Now, we have enough money to help Rachel with the pregnancy and we are going to support her the whole way through, but that doesn't mean you don't have to," Hiram said seriously. "You are the one who got her pregnant, Noah, you cannot abandon her. We are aware that she is currently with Finn, which will have to end," he looked at Rachel and she nodded slightly, "we are not saying you have to be romantic, though we would love that if it happened, you just need to be there."_

"_I promise," Puck said, speaking for the first time. "I want to be with Rachel, I love her and I already love the baby. I'm here whenever she needs me."_

"_Thank you," All three muttered and he looked over to Rachel, she had tears in her eyes but she was smiling, meaning they were happy tears._

"_Can I tell my mom?" Puck asked._

"_That would be wise," Hiram replied._

So far, Puck had kept his promise and was planning on continuing it. He always tried to comfort Rachel when she was upset and helped her when she had to throw up. He promised that he'd be at every hospital appointment and that he would be there for her when it was time to push. He hadn't skipped a lesson since the day she told him she was pregnant and his grades had shot up. He then thought back to the night he told his mom that she was going to be a grandmother properly and her reaction shocked him.

"_Mom?" Puck called as he walked back into his house. He threw his keys onto the counter and slipped off his shoes._

"_In the lounge," Edith replied. Puck walked in and saw her sitting by the fire knitting, it was her favourite pastime, it kept her concentrating and moving and she was making something. Sarah was sat on the sofa watching the television._

"_So what is it you need to tell us?" Sarah asked when she saw him._

_Puck turned off the TV and asked his mom to put the knitting needles down so she had her full attention on him. He also asked her to put them down so she wouldn't spear him when she found out, he didn't voice this though._

"_I'm going to be a father again," he blurted hoping saying it fast would make the reaction better._

"_Does that mean I'm going to be an auntie or are you giving this one away too?" Sarah asked, her eyes lighting up with joy and then it faded when she mentioned the last part._

"_Yes, you will this time," he replied and she jumped off the sofa and hugged him tightly. He looked at his mother expecting the worst._

"_Who's the girl?" His mother asked._

"_Rachel," he muttered and then his mother smiled as brightly as Sarah had. _

"_I'm disappointed in the fact you're only just 18 but I'm so happy you are together and are giving me a grandchild. I love you, Noah!" She said and stood up and hugged him._

"_I love you, too," he replied and pulled his mother close, kissing her temple. Not to be left out, Sarah stood and joined the hug._

Puck smiled at the fond memory and Rachel raised her eyebrow at him, "What are you smiling at?"

"When I told Mom about you being pregnant," Puck replied.

They were currently in Puck's room and Rachel was lying in his bed as he was meant to be completing his Biology homework.

"She took it better than I thought. Remember when we told her that they were twins?" She asked, remembering how happy Edith was that she jumped up and down and started hugging Rachel and Puck very tightly that breathing became a problem.

"Yeah, she's already started making cardigans and jumpers and stuff for the little ones," he replied. "When do we find out the sex of them?"

"In a couple of months," Rachel said sadly, she wanted to know if she had girls or boys or one of each.

"I want their middle names to be after our friends, so hopefully they'll be girls. Their middle names can be Santana and Mercedes," Puck told her and Rachel smiled at the idea. Mercedes and Santana would love it. She too hoped they were going to be girls. She enjoyed spending time with Beth the other day and made a mental note to go visit her mother sometime soon. However, if they were boys they could have the middle names as Kurt and Blaine, but then again that would be a little bit awkward if they broke up, but she knew that they were as solid as she and Puck were.

"I don't want to start thinking about names yet," Rachel said honestly, "I'd rather concentrate on school and hoping the morning sickness will stop."

"It's less consistent though," he commented as he shut his biology book. He didn't know why he'd attempted to do his work when Rachel was in his room. He then sat on the bed next to her and stroked her hair. "That's a good thing right?"

"Yes."

Rachel pulled on his arm to get him to lie next to her. She then laced their fingers together and kissed him.

"I love you," she whispered. It was the first time she'd said it out loud. Puck smiled and kissed her deeply before replying: "I love you, too." It wasn't also the first time he'd said it to her but with her saying it first, it felt so much better. They continued to kiss until Rachel's phone went off.

"I hate you right now," she growled down the phone. Puck started laughing hysterically at her so she hit him with a pillow.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your mother," Shelby replied down the phone. "You're with Puck aren't you? Sorry!"

"You will be," Rachel joked. "What's up, Mom?"

"Can you babysit again on Friday?" She asked. After Glee club today, the one Rachel and Puck didn't attend, Will had asked Shelby on another date.

"Sure, we'll be there," Rachel replied. "You and Mr Schuester seem to be getting close."

"I know and I like where it's going," Shelby admitted.

"You're so cute," Rachel laughed down the phone.

"I'm going to go so Noah doesn't kill me for interrupting you," Shelby said awkwardly.

"No, Mom, we weren't doing that!"

"I don't want to know. Goodnight darling, I'd say be safe but you're already pregnant so…"

"Goodbye Mother!" Rachel cried and hung up. Her face was beet red in embarrassment. It didn't help that Puck was still laughing at her. "I've got a pretty good way to shut you up right now," she whispered seductively. What? Her mom pretty much said it was okay. Puck stopped laughing immediately and their night got hotter.


	13. Chapter 13

_Oh my gosh, how amazing was the first episode of Glee season 4? I thought it was amazing, and I cannot wait for next week. I miss Santana and Quinn though :( also what do you guys think of Kitty and Cassandra, I have a feeling I'm not going to like them very much…but Blaine is still amazing and I think I'm going to like Marley and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Jake. It's unfortunate for Mike and Tina though, I thought they were endgame, I'm sure they'll get back together, or they will for me. Anyway, with all that said, I'm going to love you and leave you and let you get on with reading my story, remember, reviews make me smile :D._

Once again it was Friday and Rachel still was still being followed with whispers along the lines of 'slut' and 'whore' but she was able to shake them off. People knew to shut up when Puck was around as he always threatened them. She was starting to show slightly now but you couldn't tell unless you looked hard. However she ignored everyone more this morning because she was thinking about tonight as she was looking after her sister, with Puck, while her mom went on her date.

She was walking to her locker to drop of her bag when just as she was about to turn the corner, she saw Quinn running up to her with a huge smile on her face.

"You'll never guess what just happened!" She cried.

"Nope, you'll have to tell me," Rachel replied.

"Joe just asked me out!" The blonde revealed. "And I said yes!"

"No way!" The brunette said, "I'm so happy for you!"

Rachel had predicted this would happen, in every glee rehearsal the pair couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. If the pairs had to be mixed, they always worked with each other and their voices were brilliant together.

Quinn smiled at the smaller girl before running off to find Santana. Rachel was still smiling when she got to the choir room after getting rid of her bag. She was planning on spending her free lesson there before she went to her last period English lesson. However, when she got there, she immediately turned to leave straight away as Finn was sat in the back corner with his head in his hands. He looked up when he heard footsteps so Rachel couldn't leave and pretend she wasn't there.

"Rachel," he muttered. She sighed and decided to stay. They needed to talk and, as no one was around, this seemed like the perfect place to do it.

"We need to talk, Finn," she replied seriously and he nodded in agreement. She walked over to where he was sitting and sat in the chair next to him. "We can alternate questions if you want."

"You can ask first," He said, "I know you want to."

"Why did you cheat with Carly?" She asked. "After finally getting me back after New York."

He paused trying to think it through, he didn't fully know. He did love Rachel and had strong feelings for Quinn but all that didn't seem to matter when he was with Carly.

"You were like the stars in the sky, lighting the night and so beautiful," he started. "But she's like the sun; she lights up the day and reflects on the moon at night."

Now that wasn't an explanation Rachel was expecting, but she knew that he had a secret love for astrology.

"Oh, then why not end it with me?"

"Because I wasn't manly enough, as Puck said the other day," he whispered with shame. "I thought about how to do it but then when we were together, she didn't seem to matter. Yet when I was with her, she was the most important thing ever. You were right, by the way, we shouldn't have slept together the other week; I don't know what came over me."

"Teenage hormones," Rachel replied and they chuckled slightly.

"So why did you cheat with Puck?" He asked gently.

"I was drunk, he was topping up my drink all night," she revealed, "You do crazy things when you're drunk."

She then thought back to the party she held last year and she ended up kissing Blaine. Yes, he was a great kisser, but he was gay so it was definitely an experience. She also could have lost Kurt but luckily he found the whole thing amusing.

"Oh, I thought it was because you love him."

"I do, so much. If I'm honest, I'm glad everything has happened," she admitted. "Everything happens for a reason."

"Yeah, you're right."

The conversation paused for a minute, the tension between them started slipping away and they were becoming the old Finn and Rachel that were just great friends. No feelings between them. However, with knowing Rachel so well, he was sure that there was one last question.

"Just ask me, Rach," he insisted.

"Why Quinn as well?" She asked after a pause. "I mean you were with me and Carly, why bring her into it?"

"When Carly found out she was pregnant, she broke it off but she didn't tell me about the pregnancy, that's why I went to Quinn," he admitted. "It was partly because I wanted to make Carly jealous, which worked. Then she told me she was pregnant and I didn't get chance to end things with Quinn before it all came about."

"We all screwed up, I guess," Rachel said after a couple more minutes of silence.

Finn nodded, "You know Carly does want to be your friend. She wants to trade pregnancy stories with someone."

Rachel chuckled; it would be great to have someone who was experiencing it with her. Sure, she had Quinn and her mom, but they weren't going through it right now. "I don't know yet, we'll see how it goes. I'll see you later, Finn."

She picked up her bag and walked out of the room. Now that conversation was out of the way, she could start to feel less guilty and less curious; she'd finally got the truth out of Finn. She knew it was the truth because he sucks when it comes to lying. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulder and she knew at some point in the near future, she and Carly would be friends but that wasn't going to happen soon, she wasn't ready.

oOoOo

"Right, we're going to split you into four different groups and give each group a different iconic singer or band and in these groups, as groups, solos, duets or whatever, you're going to pick a song perform it. Does that sound fun?" Mr Schuester asked after everyone had arrived for that afternoon's Glee practise.

"That's sounds awesome," Sam replied smiling and high fiving Artie.

"The bands/singers are going to be pulled out of a hat," Shelby said. "And they are: Queen, Celine Dion, Elton John and the Spice Girls."

There was a mixed reaction and some apprehension, especially with the boys, bar Kurt, who didn't really want to be singing the Spice Girls.

"We're going to have 4 leaders who'll pick their teams," Mr Schuester announced. "Rachel, Santana, Puck and Kurt!"

"Are you kidding me?" Rachel asked.

"Afraid I'm gonna beat you babe?" Puck teased.

"No, but that's the team I wanted," she replied.

"Exactly," Shelby told her and Rachel huffed but didn't say anything, she needed to rethink her team.

The four captains walked to the front and began thinking who they wanted in their team.

"Kurt, you're first."

"Blaine," he said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Blaine stood and took his boyfriend's hand.

"Santana."

"Britt-Britt," she said lovingly and Brittany stood and skipped over to Santana kissing her fully.

"Rach."

"Umm, I'll go with Quinn," she decided after a pause.

"Puck."

"Mike," he said and Mike smiled and kissed Tina on the forehead before joining Puck.

They continued to pick until each teach had four members. In team Kurt, there was: Blaine, Finn and Carly. He didn't really choose to have his brother in his team but knew no one else would pick him willingly. Carly was in the same boat. In team Santana, there was: Brittany, Mercedes and surprisingly Sugar, but that was because of the three left over. In team Rachel, there was: Quinn, Tina and Sam. She was happy with the group. So lastly in team Puck, there was: Mike, Joe and Artie.

"So if the captain had their way, which band or singer would you choose?" Shelby asked. It was obvious for the girls, Santana wanted the Spice girls and Rachel wanted Celine Dion. Kurt didn't mind who he had and Puck just didn't want the Spice Girls.

The different artists were written on a piece of paper and place in a hat. Each captain had to step forward and pick one out.

"Are you kidding me?!" Puck cried when he saw what was written on the piece of paper. Shelby then stepped forward and saw what band he had.

"Boys," she said indicating him, Joe, Mike and Artie, "you'll be singing the Spice girls." They all groaned while everyone else laughed at them.

Rachel had picked out Elton John and was pleased; there were literally hundreds of songs to pick from. Kurt had picked Celine Dion, which made him, Blaine and Carly happy but Finn groaned so Carly slapped him. Rachel grinned at the other brunette in approval. This meant that Santana had picked out Queen.

"You have the rest of the day to sort out who's singing in a group or doing solos. You'll perform next week," Mr Schuester said and the groups spread out.

oOoOo

"I'm still not happy." Puck was still grumbling about getting the Spice Girls as he drove to Shelby's with Rachel in the passenger seat. When he got no reply, he glanced to the right and saw that his girlfriend was laughing under her breath. "Don't laugh at me."

"You're sounding like a five year old," she told him. "Of course I'm laughing at you."

He started pouting at her; however, instead of ceasing to laugh, she just got louder.

"I spoke to Finn earlier," she said as the got out the truck when Puck pulled up to the curb.

"Oh, about what?" He asked taking her hand as they walked up the path to the apartment.

"About why we cheated and stuff," she shrugged. She knew he was waiting to hear Finn's reason but they'd reached Shelby's door so Rachel knocked and ignored his questioning expression.

"Rach, Noah, you're early!" Shelby said as she opened the door. She was dressed and her hair and makeup was done perfectly. Rachel chuckled at how much of a perfectionist her mom was. "What are you laughing at?"

"We're early, yet you're already dressed ready to leave," Rachel replied.

Shelby didn't reply; she only stuck her tongue out at her daughter. Rachel laughed and walked over to the crib were Beth was playing. When she saw Rachel coming she started waving her arms and did the similar grabby motion with her hands. Leaning down, Rachel reached out and pulled her sister up and placed her on her hip.

"Hello, Beth," she murmured after kissing her sister's forehead. She rocked slightly side to side and Beth just giggled enjoying the attention. Rachel was in her own little world with her sister that she didn't notice Puck and Shelby watching her contently. They both knew she'd be a great mom just like she was being a great sister.

She was pulled out of her world when someone knocked on the door. She looked over and saw her mom running off to her bedroom. Confused, Puck walked forward instead and opened the door.

"Hey, Mr Schue," he greeted and let the older man in, "She just ran to her bedroom for something."

Shelby returned a second later carrying her bag. "Almost forgot it, sorry," she murmured and then walked over to Mr Schuester and kissed him in greeted. "Back at eleven."

"Bye, Mom," Rachel called from the sofa where she'd sat down. Beth was sat on her knee with a toy in her hands and Rachel was stroking her hair.

"Bye, Sweetie," Shelby replied and left with Will's finger's laced between hers.

Puck walked over and joined his girlfriend and her sister. He didn't class Beth as his daughter, because as much as he loved her, he wasn't her father. Someday she would know the truth, but for now, he was just her sister's boyfriend. Hopefully they could have an uncle/niece relationship like he had with Hiram and Leroy, though that was technically an uncles/nephew relationship.

"So what did you and Finn talk about?" He asked her as he sat down. So she told him what Finn had said. She could tell he was angry but when she finished he looked much happier.

"Yeah, I've always believed everything happens for a reason," he mused and kissed Rachel on her forehead. "I love you, Rachel," he murmured.

"Ra-el," Beth mumbled and giggled. "Ra-el," she repeated and she pointed at her sister.

Rachel's brightest smile broke out at her sister, "Yeah, I'm Rachel, you're Beth and this is Noah."

"Ra-el and 'Ah," she said and continued to giggle. She then saw the picture at the side of the sofa and pointed to Shelby. "Momma."

Rachel couldn't contain herself; she picked up her phone and dialled her mom's number.

"Rachel, what is it?" Shelby asked frantically.

"Beth said Rachel, well it was more Ra-el but it was still my name!" She replied happily. "She pointed to your picture and said Momma and called Noah, 'Ah!"

"Yes, she started speaking more often. It's not the first time she's said Rachel, she said it when I was talking about you the other day," Shelby said. She'd calmed down now as she realised Beth, or Rachel, wasn't in danger.

"I'm sorry to ring but I was excited," Rachel laughed.

"It's okay; I'll see you when I'm home." Shelby then hung up and Rachel continued to smile. That's what she did for most of the rest of the night; anything Beth did made her smile. Whenever she said Ra-el, her brightest smile broke out again. Puck had never seen her this happy, it rivalled the time they said I love you the first time.

They spent the night doing what they did last weekend with playing with Beth, singing to Beth and tucking her up in bed.

When the little girl was asleep, Rachel looked up at Puck. She was currently lying on the sofa with her head in his lap and he was stroking her hair. "I love you, too, by the way," she said. "I didn't get chance to say it earlier."

"Thanks," he replied and leant down to kiss her. The kissing broke off when the door clicked and opened.

Shelby and Will crept in like they did last week but when they saw that both were awake, they gave up and spoke normally.

"Hey," Rachel called and got up off Puck's lap. "Good night?"

"Yes thanks," Shelby replied and she looked at Will and blushed. Rachel recognised the glint in their eyes that she saw when it was just her and Puck alone at either house.

"I'm glad, we'll see you on Monday," Rachel said quickly, she kissed her mom's cheek and grabbed Puck's hand to leave. Puck was highly confused but Shelby sent her a grateful smile. Rachel pretended to be sick before winking and running out the apartment with Puck rushing after her.

"What the hell was that?" He asked a little breathless.

"You don't wanna know, I need to get the images out of my head," she groaned in reply. He figured out what she meant and pulled a strange face.

"Yep, they definitely had a good night," he murmured before starting the ignition and driving to Rachel's with a similar glint in his eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

On Saturday afternoon, Puck had to leave because he had work. He'd started working at Burt's tyre shop to get more money for when the babies were here. Hiram and Leroy had said it wasn't necessary but he ignored them and got the job but he realised that he actually enjoyed working with the cars more than cleaning the pools. Hiram and Leroy were at the supermarket, which meant that Rachel was alone and bored. An idea sprang to her head and she sent a text Finn asking for Carly's number. When he sent her it, she sent the girl a message.

**Hey Carly, it's Rachel. Fancy going to the mall for maternity wear?**

She text back about five minutes later saying yes and she'd meet her there in half an hour. Rachel didn't actually know what she was shopping for so she sent a text to Quinn as well.

**Going shopping for maternity wear, help?**

She didn't warn her about Carly being there because she knew that the blonde wouldn't turn up otherwise and she really needed the help. After leaving a note for her dads on the fridge, she got in her mini cooper and drove to the mall. It was such a good feeling to be driving again; Puck didn't trust her driving with being pregnant hence why he usually drove her to school most days.

Pulling into the parking lot, she saw Quinn's car and parked in the slot next to it. She locked her car and started walking towards the door. Carly had yet to arrive; she'd be there in about ten minutes. Quinn waved at Rachel when she saw her approaching.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Umm, I invited Carly," Rachel replied.

"Why?"

"Because she needs the clothes and advice too," Rachel muttered and saw that Quinn realised this too.

"Yeah, you're right," Quinn sighed.

"Be nice, Q. I know what happened was wrong but we need to forget the past and move on," Rachel said.

Quinn grumbled but smiled and waved when Carly approached. She looked nervous, who would blame her? But she seemed happy to be getting out.

"Hey guys," she greeted and smiled. She didn't even bat an eyelid that Quinn was there and the three girls headed into the mall and trailed the shops.

With the advice Quinn gave, Rachel and Carly were able to get clothes that weren't just comfortable but were still fashionable. The three girls actually got on better than Rachel had thought; Carly and Quinn did used to be friends, with both being on the Cheerios at some point. They shopped until they literally dropped and went to a café for a coffee.

"So what songs are you girls singing in Glee?" Carly asked as she sipped her latte.

"I'm singing 'Your Song'," Rachel replied.

"I'm doing 'Candle in the Wind'," Quinn said. "What about you?"

"Finn and I are singing 'Beauty and the Beast'," she grumbled. "I love him but he's a whiner. He didn't shut up for about an hour that we got Celine Dion."

"You should have heard Noah," Rachel laughed. "He was still going on about it when we were driving to my mom's that night to look after Beth."

"Oh, where was your mom going?" Quinn asked.

"She had another date with Mr Schuester," Rachel replied and then paused. She probably wasn't meant to tell anyone. "Don't tell."

"Who's your mom?" Carly asked.

Obviously Carly didn't know with not being in the Glee club in her sophomore year, Rachel was sure Sam didn't know either but he'd either figured it out, or Mercedes had told him. Sugar and Joe wouldn't know either but Rachel thought it was obvious that Shelby was her mom. Not only did the look alike and sing alike, they were together a lot at school and were always hugging.

"Shelby Corcoran…"

"Oh, I thought she might have been your auntie or something," Carly said.

"Nope, she's my mom."

They decided to say goodbye to each other and each headed home. Once home Rachel started putting her clothes away when she felt arms snake around her. At first she was scared at who it was but again, she recognised the abs she was against and chuckled slightly. Her fathers weren't home yet so she turned round and leant up to kiss him. Things got heated and she moved away from her closet and headed to the bed, removing items of clothing as they went.

oOoOo

About an hour later, Rachel and Puck were lying on Rachel's bed talking about random things. When Rachel said: "You know we still haven't ever been on an official date."

He looked up at her face and saw she was smiling, at first he thought she was upset by that. He knew that he should have taken her out but they'd been so busy with school and glee and they went to each other's house practically every day.

"You're right, Babe," he replied and smiled back. He then stood up and walked round to Rachel's side of the bed and got on one knee. Rachel started laughing at him but he coughed slightly so her laugher did a diminuendo until she was silent. "Rachel Barbra Berry, will you do me the honour of going on a date with me tonight?"

"I'd love to," she replied and he picked her up and kissed her. Someday, she wished that he would repeat what he just did but ask her a different question and she already knew that she'd say yes; he was the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

oOoOo

Rachel had just finished putting the final touches of her makeup on when Hiram shouted up that her date was here. She laughed at her father and called that she'd be down in a minute. She was wearing a strapless purple dress that ended at her knees. It pulled in under her breast and disguised her slight baby bump. Her makeup was smoky and her lips were bright. Her heels were black but weren't that high, she didn't want to fall and hurt herself or the babies.

She waltzed down the staircase gracefully and saw Puck waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He'd left after asking her out so she could get ready and he could book a table. He looked so smart that Rachel was actually gobsmacked. He was wearing a suite fit with a purple tie, he knew what her favourite colour was, and was holding a present in one hand and a bouquet of bright flowers in the other.

"Rachel, you're so beautiful," he said mesmerised. His eyes were full of love as he walked closer to her and kissed her lightly to not smudge her make up. "These are for you."

He passed her the present and she quickly opened in to reveal a box of her favourite chocolates and the flowers were all purples, pinks and whites, the way she loved them.

"Thank you," she replied and quickly sorted out the flowers to they were in a vase.

"Pictures!" Leroy demanded with his camera in his hand.

Rachel blushed but Puck didn't mind. He put his arms around her and they both looked at Leroy who started clicking on the camera stating different positions for them to stand in for the pictures. Finally, after what seemed like hundreds of pictures, Rachel, with the help of Hiram, managed to get Leroy to stop so she and Puck could set off.

The drive to the restaurant wasn't long and before they knew it, they had just ordered their meal. For starters, Rachel had ordered garlic mushrooms and Puck had ordered chicken and mushroom soup. For their mains, Rachel had ordered a vegan lasagne and Puck had ordered a beef and bacon burger. Rachel had pulled a face at the double meat burger but she didn't say anything.

"This is the definition of a whirlwind romance, don't you think?" Rachel muttered after their starters had arrived.

"You could say that," Puck replied slurping up his soup. "But I love you and you love me so I don't see anything wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," she said. "It's just not technically right."

"You're right," he admitted, putting down his spoon and taking her hands in his. "I should have just told you how I felt instead of getting you drunk. Then there might not have been all this cheating. But you know the thing I don't regret?"

"What's that?" She asked.

"I actually don't regret getting you pregnant," he revealed. "Sure, we're young but it gives us both a chance for something different. I get to prove to myself that I can be the man my father wasn't by staying with my kids and my beautiful girlfriend and you get to be the boss of everything." He laughed at her expression, she was half offended and half amused.

"Yeah you're right," she said. "I never thought about getting pregnant, my future was just about being famous. Hopefully I'll still be able to do that, but you and the kids come first."

Puck said nothing, he just stood up and walked over to her and took her hand again.

"I love you, Rachel Berry and I love the two tiny babies growing in your stomach. I promise that you three are the most important people in my life," he said solemnly.

"I love you too, we all love you too," Rachel replied with a tear slipping down her face. Puck then leant up and kissed her putting all of his passion into the kiss.

He went back to his food then and they ate and enjoyed the rest of their night, a smile never leaving their faces. Once they got back to Rachel's, Puck kissed her on the door step like a proper date, but still followed her into the house. They left their keys on the side and walked upstairs to Rachel's bedroom and didn't come out for many, many hours.

oOoOo

In the morning, Rachel and Puck entered the kitchen together and were met by Hiram sitting by the table reading the newspaper and Leroy standing by the cooker flipping pancakes and piling them on to a plate. Rachel then looked over to the table and saw many different toppings for the pancakes, sugar, lemon, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, just to name a few.

As soon as Leroy placed the plate of cooked pancakes on the table, Puck dived in grabbing one and coating it in chocolate sauce before digging in.

"Have you never eaten before, Noah?" Hiram asked laughing at him. Puck had taken one bite and already had chocolate sauce around his mouth. "I know for sure Edith is an extremely good cook and feeds you well."

Puck looked a little guilty but he couldn't help it. Leroy's cooking, especially pancakes, were the best he'd ever tasted, especially with the fact that they were, what Hiram called, 'Rachel proof'.

"Sorry, Hiram," Puck replied, "I'll slow down."

"You don't have to do anything, Noah," Leroy said, "Ignore him, he's just jealous that he doesn't have the excuse of being a teenager to get away with eating like a pig."

"Dad!" Rachel chastised, "Don't be so mean to Daddy and Noah."

"Sorry, Pumpkin," Leroy replied and kissed the top of her head.

The family started eating their breakfast and soon it was time for Puck and Rachel to get ready to go to Puck's house. Rachel was going to be spending some time with Sarah giving her a singing lesson while Puck cleaned the house as it needed doing. Edith was much better now but had insisted that she wasn't well enough to do the housework and had guilt tripped her son to do it for her.

oOoOo

"Rachel!" Sarah cried as she ran onto the drive way when she heard Puck's truck pull up.

"Hello, S!" Rachel called back and engulfed the younger girl into a huge hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm so excited right now," Sarah said rapidly, which proved her point. When she gets excited, she talks quicker than usual.

Rachel kissed Puck and then followed Sarah up to her bedroom where she kept her keyboard.

"We're going to start simply and then get more advanced and soon you'll be singing so well you'll definitely get the solos when you start high school," Rachel said.

"Let's go!"

Rachel started the lesson with vocal warm ups that contained many scales an arpeggios so Sarah didn't damage anything. She went through different breathing exercises and talked her through the best posture to get the best notes. Sarah then picked a song to sing and Rachel listened to it but it was too high for her to sing. She then explained that Sarah was an alto and went through songs that would be more suited for her voice.

"Don't sopranos get all the solos?" She asked, her previous smile turning upside down.

"Of course not," Rachel replied.

"But you're a soprano and you get the solos."

"That's because I'm the best," Rachel said simply, "And you will be too."

They continued their practise until Sarah was literally begging to stop. Rachel wasn't pleased, she was sure they'd be practising for at least another two hours. She sighed and realised it was Sarah's first lesson; she needed to build up to the long hours of practising that she was used to.

"Rachel, come help me with something?" Puck called from the floor above.

"I'll be right back," she said to Sarah and then ran upstairs and saw Puck sitting on his bed with a piece of paper in his hand. "What's that?"

"It's something I wrote when we were five," he muttered in shock from what he'd written. "I'd forgotten about it."

He then passed her the paper and saw that Puck had made himself a family. It said:

**Daddy Puckerman – Noah**

**Mommy Puckerman – Rachel **

**Daughter Puckerman – Ava/Phoebe/Stella**

**Son Puckerman – Levi/Aaron/Ethan**

"Oh my goodness," Rachel murmured. It was fascinating that he'd thought of a family for them when he was five. They were extremely good friends back then and were always together; it was no surprise that she was 'mommy' he didn't talk to any other girls.

When Rachel left later that night, Puck didn't realise that she'd slipped the piece of paper into her back pocket and then pinned in onto her notice board in her bedroom where everything important was. On that board was pictures of the Glee club members, pictures of her, some with Santana, some with Quinn and some with both and Brittany. She had a whole corner devoted to Puck; there were pictures from last night and a picture of the ultrasound and now the new addition of Puck's 'prediction'.

She sat and looked at the board before remembering that she had to practise for glee, she warmed up her voice and started singing the Elton John song she had prepared. She sang until her voice started to crack with exhaustion before going through her nightly rituals and getting ready for bed, once again dreaming about her babies and her boyfriend.


	15. Chapter 15

Rachel was the first student to enter the choir room as usual the Tuesday afternoon but was met with something that wasn't the ordinary. Her mom and Mr Schuester were sat by the piano with their backs to the door, his arm was around her and she was leaning her head on his shoulder as they spoke quietly to each other. Neither heard Rachel walk in and she wanted to keep it that way so she could hear what they were saying.

"I wish we had more time like this," Shelby was saying.

"I know, I miss you when you're not around," Will replied and leant down to kiss her on her forehead.

Shelby looked up and slipped her hand around his neck and pulled him close to kiss her. The kiss got more heated so Rachel decided that it was time to announce her arrival by coughing slightly. The two shot apart quickly.

"Rachel!" Shelby cried her chest rising rapidly as she tried to get her breath back. "Don't do that!"

"H...how long were you stood there for?" Mr Schuester asked her, his chest rising similar to Shelby's with a blush creeping onto his face.

"Not long," she answered and shrugged. Shelby raised her eyebrow at her daughter in doubt. "Okay, maybe about five minutes. I heard you saying that you wished you had more time together." She smiled at the two as they blushed like teenagers. "Just be lucky that it was me who walked in and not someone else."

"You're right," Shelby replied and stood up and embraced Rachel who just kept smiling.

Shelby looked out of the door and saw that none of the other New Directions were in the corridor and then rushed up to Will and kissed him deeply before pulling back and whispered something in his ear. He smiled at her in return and winked.

Rachel laughed and shook her head at the two before going to the back of the room where her seat was. Just as she sat down, the rest of the clubbers walked in and took their seats. Puck sat next to her as normal and she whispered in his ear what just happened and laughed. Shelby glared at him and Rachel but they just laughed louder causing the rest of the New Directions to look at them like they were questioning their sanity. Rachel shook her head at them and looked forward, indicating that Shelby or Mr Schuester should start the lesson.

"Hey guys," Mr Schuester greeted.

"Mr Schue, are you wearing lipstick?" Brittany asked. "It looks like the same colour as Miss Corcoran's."

It would have been Brittany to spot something like this. Rachel and Puck started laughing again as the two teacher's blushed.

"Aww, are you guys together?" Mercedes wondered aloud. "That's so cute!"

"You guys are okay with it?" Mr Schuester asked.

"Of course we are," Quinn replied for everyone. "You had a disastrous marriage with a weirdo and then dated Holly Holliday who wasn't much better. You two are perfect together."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement with Quinn and Shelby smiled. She was worried what they would all think but was glad that they were happy for her and Will and he was really something special that she wanted to keep.

"Moving on," Mr Schuester announced, "We gave you an assignment and each day of this week, one group with perform, then on Friday the winning group with get to choose which song we'll all sing."

Everyone broke up into their groups to discuss what order they would sing in and to have a last minute practise. Meanwhile, Shelby and Will were discussing who the other judges should be. After a few minutes of discussion, Shelby left the room to find Emma and Shannon to help with the judging, while Mr Schuester went around to hear how the groups were getting on.

Shelby returned five minutes later with Emma and Shannon behind her, both ladies were smiling and went up to Will to say that they would love to help judge.

"So, who wants to go first?" Shelby asked after getting everyone's attention.

No one, not even Rachel, volunteered to go so, once again, Mr Schuester had to pull someone's name out of a hat. Santana's name was pulled out and Santana and the three other girls in her team, Mercedes, Brittany and Sugar all stayed behind to get changed while the others walked down to the auditorium where the performances were taking place.

Once they were there, the four judges sat at the director's table so they could judge without the interference of the other students and the rest of the New Directions sat at the front to cheer on their friends or in Sam's case, his girlfriend.

A couple of minutes later, Santana and her team were on the stage. Each girl was wearing something different. Santana was in a short black dress with heeled boots that went up to her knees. Brittany was in a deep blue dress with matching heels. Sugar was wearing a leopard print top with a black skirt with black wedges and Mercedes was in Black skinny jeans with a dark green t-shirt with matching creepers. Santana stepped then forward to talk.

"Because there are so many Queen songs, we've chosen to perform one song each. Sugar and I have chosen songs that we believe fit how we feel and Britt and Mercedes have chosen their favourite songs. With no further ado, allow me to present the first of team Santana. Mercedes Jones!"

Mercedes stepped forward and the other three girls walked off the stage. The lights went down and the spot light shined over her with the microphone in her hand. The auditorium was silent and every eye was on Mercedes. The band then began to play and she opened her mouth and belted perfectly from beginning to end.

"I want to break free  
I want to break free  
I want to break free from your lies  
You're so self-satisfied I don't need you  
I've got to break free  
God knows, God knows I want to break free

I've fallen in love  
I've fallen in love for the first time  
And this time I know it's for real  
I've fallen in love yeah  
God knows God knows I've fallen in love

It's strange but it's true  
I can't get over the way you love me like you do  
But I have to be sure  
When I walk out that door  
Oh how I want to be free baby  
Oh how I want to be free  
Oh how I want to break free

But life still goes on  
I can't get used to living without living without  
Living without you by my side  
I don't want to live alone hey  
God knows got to make it on my own  
So baby can't you see  
I've got to break free

I've got to break free  
I want to break free yeah

I want, I want, I want, I want to break free."

The entire auditorium broke into a round of applause and cheers. Mercedes beamed and bowed before stepping off of the stage and sitting next to Sam in the audience. He gave her a sweet kiss and told her how amazing she was as Santana made her way back onto the stage.

"That was amazing, Mercedes!" She began. "Next up is Sugar!"

Sugar skipped on the stage and got ready for her song.

"Adventure seeker on an empty street,  
Just an alley creeper, light on his feet  
A young fighter screaming, with no time for doubt  
With the pain and anger can't see a way out,  
It ain't much I'm asking, I heard him say,  
Gotta find me a future move out of my way,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,

Listen all you people, come gather round  
I gotta get me a game plan, gotta shake you to the ground  
Just give me what I know is mine,  
People do you hear me, just give me the sign,  
It ain't much I'm asking, if you want the truth  
Here's to the future for the dreams of youth,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,

I'm a man with a one track mind,  
So much to do in one life time (people do you hear me)  
Not a man for compromise and where's and why's and living lies  
So I'm living it all, yes I'm living it all,  
And I'm giving it all, and I'm giving it all,  
It ain't much I'm asking, if you want the truth,  
Here's to the future, hear the cry of youth,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,  
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now,"

The auditorium once again erupted into applause but lacked the cheers that were cried for Mercedes. Sugar did an amazing performance but Santana had said earlier that Sugar had picked a song she related to. People weren't too sure of her now seeing as she openly sang that she wanted it all.

Santana made her way up onto the stage again and high fived Sugar as they past.

"The next to final person in my team is the love of my life and I'm not afraid to say that. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce Brittany!" Santana announced and Brittany jumped onto the stage and not only sang but danced her way through the song.

"Mm ba ba de  
Um bum ba de  
Um bu bu bum da de  
Pressure pushing down on me  
Pressing down on you no man ask for  
Under pressure - that burns a building down  
Splits a family in two  
Puts people on streets  
Um ba ba be  
Um ba ba be  
De day da  
Ee day da - that's o.k.  
It's the terror of knowing  
What the world is about  
Watching some good friends  
Screaming 'Let me out'  
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher  
Pressure on people - people on streets  
Day day de mm hm  
Da da da ba ba  
O.k.  
Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor  
These are the days it never rains but it pours  
Ee do ba be  
Ee da ba ba ba  
Um bo bo  
Be lap  
People on streets - ee da de da de  
People on streets - ee da de da de da de da  
It's the terror of knowing  
What this world is about  
Watching some good friends  
Screaming 'Let me out'  
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high  
Pressure on people - people on streets  
Turned away from it all like a blind man  
Sat on a fence but it don't work  
Keep coming up with love  
but it's so slashed and torn  
Why - why - why ?  
Love love love love love  
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking  
Can't we give ourselves one more chance  
Why can't we give love that one more chance  
Why can't we give love give love give love give love  
give love give love give love give love give love  
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word  
And love dares you to care for  
The people on the edge of the night  
And loves dares you to change our way of  
Caring about ourselves  
This is our last dance  
This is our last dance  
This is ourselves  
Under pressure  
Under pressure  
Pressure"

Her dancing affected her singing a little bit making her vocal a little wobbly but the dancing made up for it; she did flips and turns and never stood still for a moment and sang the song like she meant every word.

As everyone else in team Santana had performed except for Santana herself, when Santana stood on the stage she didn't say anything. She just got in the zone and let the band kick in before opening her mouth and serenading the rest of the New Directions, keeping eye contact with Brittany and Rachel who were sat next to each other, both cheering on the Latina.

"Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time  
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!  
I'm floating around in ecstasy  
So don't stop me now don't stop me  
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time

I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies  
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity  
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva  
I'm gonna go go go  
There's no stopping me

I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mrs Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't want to stop at all

I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars  
On a collision course  
I am a satellite I'm out of control  
I am a sex machine ready to reload  
Like an atom bomb about to  
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mrs Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman out of you

Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me  
Hey hey hey!  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)  
Don't stop me have a good time good time  
Don't stop me don't stop me  
Ooh ooh Alright  
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!  
Two hundred degrees  
That's why they call me Mrs Fahrenheit  
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light  
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time  
I'm having a ball don't stop me now  
If you wanna have a good time  
Just give me a call  
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)  
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)  
I don't wanna stop at all"

Santana had the loudest cheer out of everyone and Rachel and Brittany shot out of their seats to congratulate the girl. Rachel hugged her tightly then Brittany pulled her into a deep kiss that Rachel had to cough to get their attention.

Shelby, Mr Schuester, Emma and Coach Beiste made their way down to the front of the auditorium with smiles on their faces.

"That was amazing girls," Mr Schuester congratulated.

"You have set an extremely high standard for everyone to follow," Emma told them.

"This is sure gonna be hard to call," Coach Beiste said.

"I'm so proud," Shelby finished off.

The group then collected their things and left with team Santana rushing off to get change before they left. Emma and Coach Beiste followed the students back to the room too. Will walked up to Shelby and kissed her soundly before taking her hand to lead her to the choir room to collect their things. Little did they know, Emma had seen the kiss and a tear slipped down her face at the sight.

_So Will and Shelby's relationship has been revealed, what do you think about it? Thanks for all the reviews, I love reading them. You're all amazing, thank you!_


	16. Chapter 16

It was a bright Tuesday morning and Rachel was walking to her mother's office. She hadn't spent that much time with her mom recently and she missed her. Puck had a dentist appointment and was coming into school later so Rachel had been able to drive to school again and keep herself occupied until school started. She didn't really feel like going to the choir room to see everyone so she decided to see her mom instead. She was walking through the school at a fast pace even though people had given up with the whispers about her, but she was sure they'd start again when her baby bump was more prominent, but she still didn't want to be around them.

When she reached the corridor where her mom's office was, she saw Emma Pillsbury-Howell storming ahead and turned into office of Rachel's final destination. Knowing that something wasn't right, she quickly made her way to the office and stayed outside to hear what was going on.

"What the hell is going on between you and Will?" Emma demanded.

"I don't see how that is any of your business!" Shelby retorted.

"He's my ex so it's my business!" Emma yelled.

Rachel decided that she was going to interfere; Mrs Pillsbury-Howell had no right to yell at her mom like that.

"What's going on?" She asked as she walked into the office.

"Your slut of a mother is sleeping with Will Schuester!"

"Excuse me, my mom is not a slut and she's dating him, so she can sleep with him," Rachel cried. She looked over to her mom and saw there were tears slipping down her beautiful face. "You ran back to Carl, you don't deserve Mr Schuester. My mom loves him and he loves her. You can tell by just looking at them. So butt out and leave them alone!"

Emma huffed but turned on her heel and stormed out of the office. Rachel looked back to her mom who was still crying. She didn't really know what to do so she just grabbed the box of tissues on her desk and picked one up. She offered it to Shelby who took it and began to wipe up her makeup.

Neither the mother or daughter said anything for a few moments, Rachel didn't know what to say and Shelby was fixing her makeup.

"Let's hope no one heard that," Shelby muttered with a shaky laugh.

"Ignore her, Mom, she's just jealous," Rachel replied and sat on the desk in front of Shelby.

"Yeah, I need to ignore her. I don't know how she found out," Shelby sighed.

"Did you kiss again last night?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, in the auditorium and then in the choir room then in his office and then at mine…"

"Don't need to know everything, Mom!" Rachel interrupted. "My guess is the auditorium. Just be careful. I love you, Mom. I don't want to see you upset."

They then started talking freely about Glee and Rachel's song choice and other random stuff until the bell went. Rachel bid her mom goodbye and rushed off to her first lesson. For the rest of the day, her mind kept flicking back to her mom, she knew that she'd taken what Emma had said badly but she didn't know what she was going to do.

oOoOo

Rachel made sure she was at Glee first but was disappointed to see that she was the only one in the choir room. She took her seat and waited for the other members to pile in after her. Mr Schuester entered five minutes after her looking angry and hurt but didn't meet Rachel's eye. The other members finally arrived in pairs or threes until everyone was there. Finally ten minutes after the last person had taken their seat, Shelby appeared. Her eyes were red and it was obvious that she'd been crying. The glee clubbers looked over to Rachel to see if she had an answer but she didn't say anything.

Coach Beiste and Mrs Pillsbury-Howell arrived, the latter looking smug after seeing Mr Schuester and Shelby's facial expressions, and Mr Schuester finally started the lesson.

"Right anyone want to volunteer?" He asked looking towards Kurt, Rachel and Puck whose teams were yet to perform.

To everyone's surprise, even Rachel's, it was Puck who nodded and stood forward. He'd seen Mr Schuester's hurt expression and Shelby's red eyes and after what Rachel had told him this morning, he knew what had happened. It looked like the two had argued over what Emma had said and he'd decided it was up to him and his group to cheer them up. He knew that boys singing the Spice Girls would cheer anyone up.

"We'll go," he announced, "Right guys?" He looked over to Mike, Artie and Joe. Mike was all for it and joined him at the front, Joe shrugged and stood up too but Artie looked apprehensive. Puck walked up to him and whispered in his ear, "We need to," and nodded over to Shelby and Mr Schuester who were standing at opposite ends of the room, despite their relationship being revealed yesterday. Artie gave in and rolled to the front, "Let's go!" He said faking enthusiasm.

The four boys stayed back to get changed while the others left to the auditorium. Quinn, Tina and Rachel kissed their boyfriends before following the rest to the auditorium. Rachel caught up to her mom and pulled her to the side.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Nothing," Shelby replied and started to move. Rachel caught onto her mom's arm and pulled her back.

"I'm being serious. What happened?" Rachel repeated. Shelby then gave in and told her daughter.

_It was lunch time when Will stormed into her office._

"_Hey Sweetie, what's wrong?" Shelby asked standing up to greet him. She went to kiss him but he pulled away._

"_Who are you cheating on me with?" He demanded._

"_Ch-cheating on you?" She asked her eyes started to tear up. "I'm not."_

"_Don't lie to me, Shelby. Emma told me that she saw you leave a restaurant with some guy when she went out with Carl yesterday," Will shouted._

"_I didn't go to a restaurant," Shelby defended. "After you left, I put Beth to bed and put on a DVD before getting ready go to bed myself."_

"_Why are you lying to me?" He questioned. His anger was increasing with everything Shelby said. _

"_I'm not!" She promised. "I don't want to be with anyone else but you, Will. I've told you this!" Tears were falling rapidly down her face now. "Emma's the one lying to you. She saw us kissing yesterday and was jealous."_

"_She's married, Shelby," Will yelled, "She wouldn't be jealous that we're together."_

"_Yet she is."_

"_I don't believe you," he muttered after a pause._

"_Then go!" Shelby shouted. She'd had enough, as much as she truly loved Will, she would not be called a liar._

_Will turned and stormed out of his office and left Shelby in her office. She stood up and locked her door and sat back down. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself and cried for the rest of the afternoon, grateful that she had no lessons to teach until Glee._

Rachel was speechless. She didn't know Mr Schuester could be that stupid; it was obvious to anyone who saw that Shelby loved him more than anything. Shelby's eyes were tearing up again despite her effort to try and stop them.

"Puck will cheer you up," she said after a while. "That's why he offered to perform. I'm sure you'll be laughing when you see his performance, it's amazing."

Shelby gave her daughter a watery smile before holding out her hand. Rachel took it and the two walked into the auditorium. Shelby walked up to the directors desk and sat on Coach Beiste's left with Will on her right and Emma to his. Shannon knew of Will and Shelby's relationship, she was the only one Will had told and she was utterly confused at why Shelby would sit next to her and not Will. She had no idea why her friends were mad at each other but hoped they worked it out.

Rachel sat in the audience next to Santana who looked at her questioningly. Rachel shook her head and mumbled, "Later," and looked forward.

A few moments later, Puck walked onto the stage wearing jeans and a red Union Jack top. Artie was all in black and Mike was wearing a tracksuit. Joe was wearing pink which shocked everyone. It looked like Puck was Geri Halliwell, Artie was Victoria Beckham, Mike was Mel C and Joe was Emma Bunton.

"We are the Spice Boys," Puck announced, "I'm Mohawk Spice. This," pointing to Artie, "Is Wheel Spice, this," pointing to Mike, "Is Dance Spice and finally this," pointing to Joe, "Is Dreadlock Spice. Up first singing together, are Wheel Spice and Dance Spice!"

Joe and Puck left the stage and joined their girlfriends in the audience. Rachel and Quinn laughed at them slightly before turning their attention back to the two on stage.

(**Artie **_Mike_ Both)

"La La La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La

When You're Feelin' Sad And Low  
We Will Take You Where You Gotta Go  
Smiling Dancing Everything Is Free  
All You Need Is Positivity

**Colours Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**Every Boy And Every Girl  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**People Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_Aahh  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh And Go Round  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh  
Hi Ci Ja Hold Tight

La La La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La La La  
La La La La La La La  
  
Yellow Man In Timbucktoo  
Colour For Both Me And You  
Kung Fu Fighting Dancing Queen  
Tribal Spaceman And All That's Inbetween  
  
**Colours Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**Every Boy And Every Girl  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**People Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_Aahh  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh And Go Round  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh  
Hi Ci Ja Hold Tight

**Flamenco Lambada** _But Hip Hop Is Harder  
We Moonwalk The Foxtrot _**Then Polka The Salsa**  
Shake It Shake It Shake It Haka  
Shake It Shake It Shake It Haka  
Arribaaaaa Ahaaa

**Colours Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**Every Boy And Every Girl  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_**People Of The World  
**_Spice Up Your Life  
_Aahh  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh And Go Round  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh  
Hi Ci Ja Hold Tight  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh And Go Round  
  
_Slam Me To The Left  
_**If You're Havin' A Good Time  
**_Shake It To The Right  
_**If You Know That You Feel Fine  
**_Chicas To The Front  
_Huh Huh  
Hi Ci Ja Hold Tight"

The whole auditorium broke into cheers, laughter and applause. There was no one, not even Shelby and Will, not smiling. Mike's dancing was perfectly executed but comical as well and Artie was doing his own moves in his chair. They sang well together. It was a comedy performance that didn't go over the top.

Puck stood up and walked on to the stage. He helped Mike get Artie off of the stage before stepping to the front. "May I present, Dreadlock Spice!"

Joe pecked Quinn on the cheek before standing up and swapping places with Puck on the stage.

"Just so you know this is not a song I usually sing but it was fun. I'm going to dedicate it to my gorgeous girlfriend, Quinn, and hope it cheers everyone up and makes them laugh," he stated before setting up his guitar and strumming along with the band and starting to sing.

"The race is on to get out of the bottom,  
The top is high so your roots are forgotten,  
Giving is good as long as you're getting,  
What's driving you it's ambition and betting,  
(I said a) who do you think you are?( Do u think you are)  
Some kind of superstar,  
You have got to swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are,  
Swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are.

You're swelling out in the wrong direction,  
you've got the bug, superstar you've been bitten,  
Your trumpet's blowing for far too long,  
playing the snake of the ladder, but you're wrong

I said who do you think you are?  
(who do you think you are)  
Some kind of superstar,  
You have got to swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are,  
Swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are.

You have got to reach on up, never lose your soul,  
You have got to reach on up, never lose control

I said who do you think you are?  
(I said who) do u think you aree, (do u think you are)  
Some kind of superstar,  
You have got to swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are,  
Swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
who do you think you are?  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it,  
show me how good you are.

Swing it, shake it, move it, make it,  
(who do you think you are?)  
Trust it, use it, prove it, groove it  
show me how good you are"

When he finished, Quinn was the first to stand up and clap. Everyone soon joined in and Joe smiled. His voice went well with the song and it worked well. He didn't do any dancing, just swaying to the side with his guitar.

He then jumped off the stage as Puck made his way on to the stage.

"This is for Rachel and you, Mr Schuester and Miss Corcoran," he announced and said nothing else. He set up his guitar and began to sing with the band.

"Candle light and soul forever  
A dream of you and me together  
Say you believe it, say you believe it

Free your mind of doubt and danger  
Be for real don't be a stranger  
We can achieve it, we can achieve it

Come a little bit closer baby, get it on, get it on  
'Cause tonight is the night when two become one

I need some love like I never needed love before  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
I had a little love, now I'm back for more  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
Set your spirit free, it's the only way to be

Silly games that you were playing  
Empty words we both were saying  
Let's work it out boy, let's work it out boy

Anything that we endevour  
Boys and Girls Go Good Together  
Take it or leave it, take it or leave it

Are you as good as I remember baby, get it on, get it on  
'Cause tonight is the night when two become one

I need some love like I never needed love before  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
I had a little love, now I'm back for more  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
Set your spirit free, it's the only way to be

Ah, oh wow  
Ah, oh wow

Be a little bit wiser baby, put it on, put it on  
'Cause tonight is the night when two become one

I need some love like I never needed love before  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
I had a little love, now I'm back for more  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)

I need some love like I never needed love before  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
I had a little love, now I'm back for more  
(Wanna make love to ya baby)  
Set your spirit free, it's the only way to be

It's the only way to be  
It's the only way to be"

All throughout the song, Shelby kept glancing at Will, just as he did the same, and a couple of times they caught eye contact and looked away before glancing up again. They repeated this until Puck strummed his last chord. Everyone looked up to Will and Shelby before Shelby quickly made her leave and didn't return.


	17. Chapter 17

No one, not even Rachel heard from Shelby all night and the next day. Rachel and Puck went to her office in the morning but she wasn't there. On the way back do the choir room, they saw Emma Pillsbury-Howell looking far too amused while walking towards Mr Schuester's office.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?!" Rachel cried. Puck tried to hold her back but it was to no avail, Rachel took off and grabbed Emma's shoulder. She didn't care if she got suspended; no one messed with her mom.

"What do you think you're doing?" Emma demanded taking a step back from Rachel. Puck left the two and went into Mr Schuester's office to get him.

"Admit it!" Rachel shouted.

"Admit what?" Emma sneered. "That your mom's a cheating slut?"

"No, that you're a liar. Been having lessons from Coach Sylvester?" Rachel yelled.

"Of course not, but Will belongs with me, not your mom," Emma answered. "So yeah, I lied to him to make him get rid of her so he could be mine!"

It was at that moment that Mr Schuester ran out of his office with Puck hot on his heels. He heard everything Emma had just said. "What?!" he boomed.

"Will!" Emma gasped in shock.

"You disgust me, Emma!" He yelled. "You lied which made me say awful things to the woman I love! Yeah, I loved you but you went back to the dentist. You're happy with him, why are you interfering?"

"I don't love Carl, I love you, Will. I always have," Emma admitted.

"You ruined everything, Emma. You have no one but yourself to blame," Will replied. "Don't talk to me until you learn to apologise."

Emma ran off, her heels clicking down the corridor as she went. Will then turned to Rachel and Puck.

"Come with me," he ordered and Rachel and Puck followed him and they ended up by Mr Schuester car. "I'll meet you at Shelby's." He climbed into his car and Rachel and Puck rushed over to the latter's truck.

The car journey was silent between the two teens and it was tense. Puck kept looking over to Rachel and she was shaking. He put his hand on her knee in comfort. She calmed down a little but she still shook slightly.

Will was there first and they all ran towards Shelby's apartment. Will knocked first but there was nothing so Rachel knocked again but louder. There was still nothing. Rachel pulled out her phone and dialled her mom's number and still nothing.

Stumped, they all stood there in silence not knowing what to do until Rachel had an idea. She stepped closer to the door and started to sing loudly so the sound would be heard through the door.

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by  
When hope was high  
And life worth living  
I dreamed that love would never die  
I dreamed that God would be forgiving  
Then I was young and unafraid  
And dreams were made and used and wasted  
There was no ransom to be paid  
No song unsung, no wine untasted."

The door cracked open slightly to reveal a shattered Shelby. Rachel pushed the door and pulled her mom into her arms.

"Oh Mom, I was so worried about you!" She cried letting the tears she held back all day start to fall.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want to talk to anyone," Shelby replied.

Shelby had yet to see Will stood at the door next to Puck. He looked so guilty, had what he'd done made her like this? She was still in her pyjamas with no makeup on and her hair tied back.

"What's happened?" Rachel asked. Both Puck and Will thought this was a silly question to ask seeing as Rachel knew what had happened but they didn't realise that Rachel knew her mother so well. Despite not knowing each other for a very long time, in the short time together, they'd bonded and knew each other as well as any mother and daughter. Shelby would not be acting like this just because Will broke her heart, something else was going on.

"My dad's gone into hospital and it's not looking good. I've been trying to sort things out so I can go visit but with what's happened, my mind is all over the place and I can't concentrate," Shelby replied.

This made Will feel worse than he already did. He decided that now was the best time to announce that he was there. He coughed slightly and Shelby looked up and started, not realising he was actually there. It was the first time she registered that Puck was also there.

"Shelby, I'm so sorry," he said softly. "I didn't know and I shouldn't have said what I did."

"I know," she muttered. "I found out after school and I was about to ring you and tell you but I couldn't, not with knowing that's how you felt about me."

"That wasn't true, I was angry and that wasn't your fault," he said. He stepped forward and took her hand. "I love you, Shelby. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I don't want Emma or Holly or any other woman. I only want you."

"Oh, Will!" Shelby cried and leapt into his arms and kissed him fully. "I love you, too!"

"We'll see you later," Rachel muttered and grabbed Puck's hand and they exited the apartment.

oOoOo

Rachel and Puck drove back to school and made it back before the afternoon lessons started. Puck kissed Rachel goodbye before heading off to his lesson, Rachel walked alone to Calculus and sat with Santana. She informed the Latina about what happened.

"I knew Mr Schuester could be idiotic but not that bad," Santana muttered.

"I know, but I think they're going to be okay," Rachel murmured.

The two spoke about their work after that as the teacher went into full swing and didn't let them out until after the bell had rung. The two parted ways and Rachel headed to the choir room for her free period. When she walked in, she saw her mom sat by the piano playing a tune Rachel didn't recognise. She was dressed in her usual blouse and skirt attire with her hair done.

"Hey, Mom," Rachel greeted as she walked closer to the piano.

"Hello, darling. Shouldn't you be in lesson?" Shelby asked.

"Free period," the daughter shrugged and sat next to Shelby on the piano stool. As she got closer she recognised the piece. It was from the Phantom of the Opera called Think of Me. She had no sheet music in front of her yet her fingers played every note perfectly. "Why are you playing this?"

"My dad was a concert pianist, he taught me how to play," Shelby replied. "This was the first piece we played together and he played it to me the day I moved out." Tears started to trickle down her face as she said this.

"Are you going to visit him?" Rachel asked.

"This weekend," Shelby replied, "I would love it if you could come with me."

Rachel nodded and just listened to her mom play the piano. It soothed both of them and it bonded them more.

oOoOo

Everyone was apprehensive when they walked into glee practise that afternoon. No one knew what had happened to Shelby and Mr Schuester and was actually upset that they weren't talking yesterday. They meant what they said about them being cute together. Everybody waited with baited breath and all let out a sigh of relief when they walked into the choir room holding hands, much to Emma's dismay but Shannon's joy.

"Right, it's between Kurt and Rachel today to perform. Like to volunteer?" Mr Schuester asked.

"We'll go," Rachel announced and looked round to Tina, Quinn and Sam who agreed.

The same happened as yesterday, Puck, Mike and Joe kissed their girlfriends and Mercedes kissed her boyfriend goodbye before walked to the auditorium. Today, however, Will took Shelby's hand and they walked down to the auditorium together, leaving team Rachel to get ready.

Team Rachel walked on stage wearing matching jeans and red tops. They had decided to wear simple clothes and make a show with their vocal performances.

"We're team Rachel," Rachel announced, "and first to sing is the lovely Tina Cohen-Chang!"

"From the day we arrive on the planet  
And blinking, step into the sun  
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen  
More to do than can ever be done

Some say eat or be eaten  
Some say live and let live  
But all are agreed as they join the stampede  
You should never take more than you give

In the circle of life  
It's the wheel of fortune  
It's the leap of faith  
It's the band of hope  
Till we find our place  
On the path unwinding  
In the circle, the circle of life

Some of us fall by the wayside  
And some of us soar to the stars  
And some of us sail through our troubles  
And some have to live with the scars

There's far too much to take in here  
More to find than can ever be found  
But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky  
Keeps great and small on the endless round"

As usual, after a stunning performance, the auditorium cheered and congratulated Tina on her beautiful rendition of the song. Rachel swapped places with her and announced that Quinn was up next.

"Seeing as Joe dedicated his song to me, mine is to him. I love you," Quinn said and smiled before breaking into song.

"Goodbye Norma Jean  
Though I never knew you at all  
You had the grace to hold yourself  
While those around you crawled  
They crawled out of the woodwork  
And they whispered into your brain  
They set you on the treadmill  
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life  
Like a candle in the wind  
Never knowing who to cling to  
When the rain set in  
And I would have liked to have known you  
But I was just a kid  
Your candle burned out long before  
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough  
The toughest role you ever played  
Hollywood created a superstar  
And pain was the price you paid  
Even when you died  
Oh the press still hounded you  
All the papers had to say  
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean  
From the young man in the twenty second row  
Who sees you as something as more than sexual  
More than just our Marilyn Monroe"

Cheers erupted and Joe rushed on stage and pulled Quinn up in a huge hug and kissed her fully. He whispered something into her ear and she smiled sweetly at him and kissed him again. The two rushed off the stage to let Rachel announce it was Sam's turn.

"Mercedes," was all he said before singing.

"I remember when rock was young  
Me and 'Cedes had so much fun  
Holding hands and skimming stones  
Had an old gold Chevy, a place of my own

But the biggest kick I ever got  
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock  
While the other kids were rocking round the clock  
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock

Well, Crocodile rocking is something shocking  
When your feet just can't keep still  
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will  
Oh, lady, mama those Friday nights  
When 'Cedes wore her dresses tight  
And the Crocodile rocking was out of sight

But the years went by and the rock just died  
'Cedes went and left me for some foreign guy  
Long nights crying by the record machine  
Dreaming of my Chevy and old blue jeans

But they'll never kill the thrills we've got  
Burning up to the Crocodile Rock  
Learning fast as the weeks went past  
We really thought the Crocodile Rock would last

Well, Crocodile rocking is something shocking  
When your feet just can't keep still  
I never knew me a better time and I guess, I never will  
Oh, lady, mama those Friday nights  
When 'Cedes wore her dresses tight  
And the Crocodile rocking was out of sight

I remember when rock was young  
Me and 'Cedes had so much fun  
Holding hands and skimming stones  
Had an old gold Chevy, a place of my own

But the biggest kick I ever got  
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock  
While the other kids were rocking round the clock  
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock

Well, Crocodile rocking is something shocking  
When your feet just can't keep still  
I never knew me a better time and I guess, I never will  
Oh, lady, mama those Friday nights  
When 'Cedes wore her dresses tight  
And the Crocodile rocking was out of sight

Come on everybody"

During this song, everyone jumped up and started to dance and sang along. The performance was energetic and Mercedes and Sam didn't break eye contact.

Then finally it was Rachel's turn. She swapped places with Sam and adjusted the microphone for her to sing.

"At first I was going to dedicate this song to Noah as always but I'm going to dedicate it to my mom as well. I love you both so much!" Rachel announced and then started to sing with all her heart.

"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside  
I'm not one of those who can easily hide  
I don't have much money, but boy if I did  
I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no  
Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show  
I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do  
My gift is my song, and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song  
It may be quite simple, but now that it's done  
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words  
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss  
Well, a few of the verses, well, they've got me quite cross  
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song  
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do  
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue  
Anyway the thing is what I really mean  
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

And you can tell everybody this is your song  
It may be quite simple, but now that it's done  
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words  
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words  
How wonderful life is while you're in the world"

Everyone turned to the judges table and saw that Shelby had more tears rolling down her cheeks. She stood up quickly and ran to the front and onto the stage. Pulling Rachel close, she whispered, "I love you so much," in to ear.

"I love you, too, Mom!" Rachel replied as tears fell freely down her face. No one dared to separate the two so they all walked off in different directions apart from Puck and Will who waited for the moment to be over. Finally, it was and the mother and daughter took the other's hand while their boyfriends had the other and the four of them walked back to the choir room.

"Once we're back from Columbus, all five of us are going to go for a family meal," Shelby decided. "Us four and Beth are a family and I'd like it to stay that way."

"Me too," Puck agreed looking at Rachel.

"And me," Will said and kissed Shelby on her temple.

The four parted but Rachel and Shelby spent that night on the phone discussing the weekend. It was going to be tough on both of them, Shelby hadn't seen her parents in a while and Rachel had never met her grandparents, but they were going to make it work and Shelby's dad had to pull though, he was a Corcoran, they're tough.


	18. Chapter 18

It was exhausting for Rachel at the moment with her pregnancy and work load, not to mention the chaotic events in the glee club recently. Her emotions were all over the shop and she was constantly worried about something: from her friends, the babies and Puck, her mom and Mr Schuester and now it's her grandfather that she'd never met.

She'd spent the previous night on the phone to her mom and found out facts about her grandparents like they were called Daisy and Jack Corcoran and they lived in Columbus, Ohio. Shelby had a close relationship with her father but her relationship with her mom was a little rocky with the situation with Rachel.

"She knew that I'd live to regret giving you up," Shelby had said, "And she was right but I've got you now and I'm so happy about that."

Shelby's father, Jack, had told her to do what she needed and he supported her through the pregnancy, as well as Hiram and Leroy, and his was the shoulder she cried on after she gave Rachel to the Berrys. He was currently in hospital with a severe case of pneumonia. It wasn't clear how he'd caught it but he's health rapidly decreased and Daisy had no option than to ring the hospital. Shelby had asked Rachel to go with her but it wasn't just her who wanted her daughter to go.

"My mom said that Dad wanted to see you," Shelby had told Rachel, "she said he wants to meet you in case he doesn't make it…"

This made Rachel agree whole heartedly, she was nervous, who wouldn't be? But she had to do it.

Before she could think about that more though, she still had two days of school to get through. She still had doses of sickness during the day but that wasn't as bad as it could have been, she only went once or twice a day now and she was thankful. She presumed with having twins, it would have been twice as bad as her mom but it didn't seem that way.

Rachel walked into the choir room with Kurt this afternoon and all the other members were there apart from one.

"Has anyone seen Noah?" Rachel asked as she took her seat.

"I haven't seen him since lunch," Artie replied.

Rachel then looked over to Mercedes, if anyone knew where he was, it was her.

"I can't tell you," she murmured.

"I'm his girlfriend, tell me Mercedes!" Rachel demanded.

"And I'm his best friend, Rach," Mercedes replied, "I can't tell you if he doesn't want me to."

Stumped on what to say, Rachel turned away from Mercedes and crossed her arms. A few moments later, Mr Schuester and Shelby walked in together, holding hands again and a minute later, Puck walked through the door with a huge bouquet of flowers and started heading towards Rachel. Rachel looked over to Mercedes who was smiling at the smaller girl. Feeling guilty, she stepped forward and took the flowers Puck offered her.

"Oh, Noah," she gasped, "they're so beautiful."

"I wanted to surprise you," he replied and kissed her temple. The other New Direction girls 'awed' and the boys smiled, apart from Finn. He didn't seem to smile these days, he was far too stressed.

"Right everyone," Mr Schuester called bringing everyone to order. "We have team Kurt up today and afterwards, we'll tell you who's won and it'll be up to them to choose what song we sing tomorrow."

The team headed to the auditorium, no one stayed back to kiss their other halves this time as the team was made up of two couples. Shelby and Shannon struck up a conversation on their way down, discussing the performances so far. Will joined them taking hold of Shelby's hand but Emma walked slightly behind not knowing what to do. She knew she was in the wrong; she shouldn't have barged in on Shelby like that. Rachel was right, you could tell Shelby and Will loved each other by just looking at them. The green monster of jealousy just took over and she couldn't control it. Now she thought about it, she did love Carl but Will was Will and the butterflies returned when she was near him. However, since the incident, she hadn't spoken to either other them apart from when judging the glee kids. She knew at some point she would have to apologise, but right now, she couldn't face it, not yet anyway.

Everyone eventually got to the auditorium and waited for the final team to perform. Kurt, Blaine, Carly and Finn stepped onto the stage wearing formal dress. All boys were in a suit fit with a tie, or bowtie in Blaine's case and Carly had on a floor length deep purple dress with a pattern running down the side.

"Hello everyone," Kurt greeted. "We're team Kurt and we'll be performing three different songs by the inspirational Celine Dion. We hope you enjoy our performance. Performing first is the love of my life, my boyfriend, Blaine Anderson!"

Everybody clapped and Kurt, Finn and Carly stepped off the stage and let Blaine perform.

"The whispers in the morning  
Of lovers sleeping tight  
Are rolling like thunder now  
As I look in your eyes

I hold on to your body  
And feel each move you make  
Your voice is warm and tender  
A love that I could not forsake

Cause I'm your lady  
And you are my man  
Whenever you reach for me  
I'll do all that I can

Even though there may be times  
It seems I'm far away  
Never wonder where I am  
Cause I am always by your side

Cause I'm your lady  
And you are my man  
Whenever you reach for me  
I'll do all that I can

We're heading for something  
Somewhere I've never been  
Sometimes I am frightened  
But I'm ready to learn  
Of the power of love

The sound of your heart beating  
Made it clear  
Suddenly the feeling that I can't go on  
Is light years away

Cause I'm your lady And you are my man  
Whenever you reach for me  
I'll do all that I can

We're heading for something  
Somewhere I've never been  
Sometimes I am frightened  
But I'm ready to learn  
Of the power of love"

The auditorium erupted with cheers and applause. Smiling, Blaine bowed before stepping off of the stage so Kurt could introduce Carly and Finn.

"Next to perform is my stepbrother and his girlfriend. Finn and Carly everybody," Kurt announced and the two took microphones and stepped closer to each other as Kurt joined Blaine in the audience.

(**Carly **_Finn_ Both)

"**Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends  
Then somebody bends  
Unexpectedly**

_Just a little change  
Small to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
_Beauty and the Beast

Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just as sure  
As the sun will rise  
_Oh oh oh ooh  
_  
Ever just the same  
_Ever a surprise  
_Ever as before  
**Ever just as sure  
**As the sun will rise  
_Oh oh oh  
_  
**Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
**Bitter sweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong  
  
_Certain as the sun  
_**(certain as the sun)  
**_Rising in the east  
_**Tale as old as time  
**Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast  
  
**Tale as old as time  
**_Song as old as rhyme  
_Beauty and the beast"

The performance was actually breath taking. The two didn't take their eyes off of each other and you could see the tear falling down Carly's face as she saw the love in Finn's eyes. Neither Rachel nor Quinn could deny the love Finn had for Carly; it was obvious. Their voices matched so well, even better than Finn and Rachel's did and that was hard to do.

When the moment of their after performance high ended, Kurt swapped places with them but said nothing. He just pulled his microphone close and started to serenade the auditorium so sweetly, always keeping eye contact with Blaine.

"Every night in my dreams  
I see you, I feel you  
That is how I know you, go on

Far across the distance  
And spaces between us  
You have come to show you, go on

Near, far, wherever you are  
I believe that the heart does go on  
Once more you open the door  
And you're here in my heart  
And my heart will go on and on

Love can touch us one time  
And last for a lifetime  
And never let go till we're gone

Love was when I loved you  
One true time I hold you  
In my life we'll always go on

Near, far, wherever you are  
I believe that the heart does go on  
Once more you open the door  
And you're here in my heart  
And my heart will go on and on

You're here, there's nothing I fear  
And I know that my heart will go on  
We'll stay forever this way  
You are safe in my heart  
And my heart will go on and on"

There wasn't a dry eye in the auditorium once Kurt had finished singing. Blaine couldn't help himself, he stood up and ran onto the stage and pulled Kurt into his arms and whispered in his ear. You didn't have to be able to lip read what he said. Kurt's reaction said it all. He smiled brightly and leant down slightly and kissed Blaine passionately.

The judges then conferred with one another until they had come to a decision. The four of them walked down from the director's desk and walked onto the stage.

"We've finally come to a decision on who has won the competition," Shelby began.

"It was a hard decision, y'all were so good!" Coach Beiste continued.

"But unfortunately, there can only be one winner," Emma said.

The four paused for a dramatic effect but Rachel wasn't having that.

"Just tell us!" She cried. Everyone laughed but became silent quickly as they too wanted to know who had won.

"In first place and deciding what song to sing tomorrow is…." Shelby started.

"TEAM PUCK!" The rest of the judges cried.

"Congratulations!" Rachel cried and hugged him tightly. That was the reaction no one was expecting. Everyone thought she would burst into tears that she hadn't won, but it was in this moment that they all realised how much she loved Puck. It was so much that she didn't care about winning if it was him who had won. Of course she would have been happy if Santana and Kurt had won, seeing as they were her best friends, but she truly thought Puck should win because he deserved it.

"Thank you," he muttered. He turned round and high fived the other members of his team, Joe, Artie and Mike.

"We'll leave you to discuss what song you'd like to sing," Shelby said and everyone started to move back to the choir room.

"We already know," he said and looked to the boys for confirmation. All three boys nodded so he continued, "We'd like to sing the 'One That Got Away' by Katy Perry."

oOoOo

That was the song they ended up singing the next day in the auditorium. Shannon, Emma, Will and Shelby sat at the director's table once more but this was just to enjoy the performance from a good seat, they weren't judging this time.

All the girls were wearing baby pink tops with black skirts and a variety of shoes. The boys were wearing baby blue tops with dark jeans.

(**Rachel **_Puck _Joe_**Quinn **__**All**_)

"**Summer after high school, when we first met  
We make-out in your Mustang to Radiohead  
And on my eighteenth birthday, we got matching tattoos  
**  
_Used to steal your parents liquor and climb to the roof  
Talk about our future like we had a clue  
Never planned that one day I'd be losing you_

_**In another life, I would be your girl  
We keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life, I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away  
**_  
**I was June and you were my Johnny Cash  
**_**Never one without the other, we made a pact  
Sometimes when I miss you, I put those records on, whoa  
**_  
Someone said you had your tattoo removed  
Saw you downtown, singing the blues  
It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse  
  
_**In another life, I would be your girl  
We keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life, I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away  
**_  
_**The one, the one, the one  
**_**The one that got away  
**  
_All this money can't buy me a time machine, no  
_**Can't replace you with a million rings, no  
**I should'a told you what you meant to me, whoa  
_**Cause now I pay the price  
**_  
_**In another life, I would be your girl  
We keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life, I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away  
**_  
**The one **_**(the one)**_  
_The one _(the one)  
**The one** _**(the one)  
**_  
**In another life, I would make you stay  
**_**So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
**_**The one that got away"**

The judges all clapped and everyone ran and hugged each other. The dancing, choreographed by Brittany, Mike and Mr Schuester, was flawless. Even Finn didn't do that badly for once, Rachel was sure Carly had been giving him lessons. Shelby had worked with Quinn, Joe, Rachel and Puck on their lead vocals as well as a mini master class for everyone else.

"I'm so proud of y'all!" Coach Beiste announced and everyone smiled and went up to hug her.

"I think it's a contender for Sectionals," Mr Schuester said. "What do you think, Shelby?"

"Definitely!" She replied. "Rachel, can I speak to you for a second?" She asked after everyone had been dismissed.

Rachel nodded and Kissed Puck goodbye, who'd promised to wait in the choir room for her, before walking over to her mom.

"So I'm picking you up at nine tomorrow and we're driving to Columbus. It shouldn't take long to get there; we'll be there before noon. We'll have lunch with my mom so she can meet you and then we're going to the afternoon visit at the hospital. It is up to you if you want to spend the weekend there," Shelby informed Rachel.

"That's sounds okay," Rachel replied. "How about I take an overnight bag just in case? Then I'm prepared if I want to stay but we can still come home if I'm uncomfortable."

"That's actually a good idea. By the way, my sister Naomi will be there too, she text me earlier," Shelby said.

"Oh right. Do they know about the pregnancy?" Rachel asked nervously.

"No, I've left that for you to tell them. It is totally your choice," Shelby answered. "It'll be okay," she promised and pulled Rachel into a hug. "They'll love you," she murmured into Rachel's ear.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel muttered.

"I love you, too, baby," Shelby replied and kissed Rachel's forehead before they walked back to the choir room to meet their boyfriends.

_Don't forget to keep reviewing guys, they mean so much. I'm extremely busy with college at the moment to updates will be few for a while until I get everything sorted out. However, I would love it if you guys could help me out with some ideas because it's getting hard for me to come up with some. I have a few planned but need a few more. If you have any ideas or thing you want to happen just let me know by review or PM and I'll see what I can do. Your reviews and favourites really do mean so much to me and I'd love it if you'd keep doing that. Thank you and I'll update as soon as I can._


	19. Chapter 19

Rachel was sat in the passenger seat of her mom's land rover. Her legs were bouncing in anticipation as they were only a few minutes away from their final destination. She'd woken up at 6am and got in a workout before having a long calming shower. She'd dressed in a pair of jeans and a large comfortable jumper. It was the beginning of October so the weather was starting to cool.

"Rach, stop with the knees," Shelby said, she could see the bouncing out of the corner of her eye and it was off putting.

"I'm sorry," Rachel murmured and tried to stop her knees from bouncing with her nerves instead, she started pulling on her sleeves over her jumper.

"I know you're scared, but my parents aren't going to hurt you or be mean, they've promised," Shelby told her daughter.

Rachel nodded her head and looked out of the window. The car did one last turn and then pulled up onto a drive in front of a very beautiful house.

"Oh my," Rachel gasped at the house. It was a two storey house with a large garage on the left. The stone work was white and the windows had black frames. The house was elegant with a slight touch of vintage paint work.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Shelby said a little smugly, it was the house that she'd grown up it and she was very fond of it.

Shelby turned the engine off and stepped out of the car and headed to the back to get Beth out of her baby seat before heading to the door. Rachel, however, didn't move. She froze and her breathing got faster until she started hyperventilating. Realising her older daughter wasn't following her, Shelby turned and walked back to the car and opened the door.

"Come on, Rach, the sooner you're in, the easier it will be," Shelby said.

It took a couple more minutes for Rachel's breathing to calm down before she stepped out of the car. After a final deep breath, she took her mom's hand and walked up to the door.

Shelby secured Beth on her hip before knocking on it slightly before walking in. As soon as they stepped over the threshold a woman rushed over and threw her arms around Shelby. They hugged for a fair few minutes before the older lady pulled back to look at Shelby and the baby in her arms properly. This was the first time Rachel saw the lady properly too. It was obvious that this was Shelby's mother. They both had the same brown irises and similar bone structures.

"So this cutie is Beth?" Daisy asked cooing at the blonde girl and Shelby nodded. She then turned and looked at Rachel. "And you must be Rachel."

Rachel said nothing but nodded in reply. She was visibly shaking with nerves. She was never nervous but it seemed when dealing with family members, her nerves over took her control. It was just like when she was meeting Beth for the first time but worse, a baby couldn't judge you like a grown woman.

"Come here," Daisy said and opened her arms wide. Walking slowing, Rachel stood by her grandmother who then threw her arms around the youngest brunette. "I've wanted to meet you all of your life. I'm so glad I can do that now." She pulled back and Rachel beamed. "You can call me Gran if you'd like, you don't have to, Daisy would be okay."

"I'd like to call you Gran actually," Rachel replied speaking for the first time.

Beth, hearing Rachel speaking, looked over to her sister and did the familiar grabby motion. Rachel walked over to her mom and picked the blonde girl up and hugged her close. Both Shelby and Daisy looked at the girls in awe, both admiring Rachel for being so considerate of her younger sister. The moment was interrupted a minute later.

"Mom, can I hear voices?" A voice called from upstairs.

"Yeah, your sister and nieces are here," Daisy called back.

Moments later, a blonde woman who looked slightly older than Shelby walked down the stairs.

"Shell-Shell!" She cried and ran over to Shelby and threw her arms around her in a similar fashion as Daisy had.

"Hey, Ni-Ni," Shelby replied and laughed at her sister's antics.

Naomi looked just like her mom as well apart from the blonde hair. Her hair was a perfect match to Beth's and her eyes were grey, which Rachel presumed came from Jack.

"You must be Rachel," Naomi murmured after she finished hugging Shelby and looking round. To this Rachel nodded. "You're pregnant…" She added after pausing to look at Rachel slightly.

"Are you?" Daisy asked. She didn't look angry, she actually looked worried.

Once again, Rachel nodded but tears sprung up to her eyes and she couldn't cope. She quickly passed Beth back to her mom before running to the door and going to the front yard. Luckily for her, no one followed her. She wasn't planning on telling them about the pregnancy until after they'd visited Jack, how could her aunt be so blunt about it? She didn't know Rachel, she shouldn't have just come out with it.

Inside the Corcoran household the three female Corcorans were discussing which one should go out to talk to Rachel. Shelby felt like it should be her as she was Rachel's mother. Daisy wanted it to be her because she wanted to get to know her granddaughter that she'd never met. However, Naomi decided she was the best one because she was the one who'd made Rachel run out. She needed to explain why she'd come out with the obvious.

Naomi stepped outside and saw Rachel sitting on the bench on the porch. She had her head in her hands and Naomi could see the girl was sobbing. It actually broke her heart to see the girl she barely knew but loved like this. Yes, she loved Rachel and she had ever since Shelby told her she was pregnant. Naomi was even there when Shelby gave birth to her.

"Rachel?"

The brunette looked up at the voice, she thought it would have been her mom and was surprised when she saw Naomi stood there nervously.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you?" Naomi asked. Rachel nodded in reply so Naomi sat next to her on the bench. Not too close but not too far away either. "I'm sorry for just blurting it out."

"I was going to tell her after we visited your dad tomorrow," Rachel muttered. "It was a mistake at first but I can't get rid of them."

"I know. This was the situation I was in in my senior year," Naomi admitted. Rachel now realised why her mom wasn't angry when she'd revealed the pregnancy.

"Really?"

"Yes, I kept the baby too. He's called Brady and he's twenty-two," the blonde revealed. "He's just finished university. I'm extremely proud of him. How far are you, you look about three/four months?"

"I'm actually only around two months," Rachel replied, "I'm having twins."

"How wonderful!"

The two spent about an hour discussing Rachel's pregnancy before Daisy called them in to get ready for the hospital. Before they set off, Daisy showed Rachel the bedroom she was staying in while she was there, if she chose to stay the night. It was next to the room her mom would sleep in.

"This was your mom's room when she lived here," Daisy said fondly.

Rachel stepped in and immediately felt like she was back at home. The walls were covered in theatre posters and play bills. There were gold stars on the walls and on the curtains. It reminded Rachel of her own bedroom in Lima and she felt comforted by it. She quickly refreshed her face with a splash of water before taking another long calming breath before stepping back downstairs.

She was less nervous about meeting her grandfather than her grandmother. She felt like Daisy wouldn't like her because of the hurt she'd given Shelby but it didn't seem that way, obviously. You could see the love that both Daisy and Naomi had for Rachel even though they'd never met her properly. For Daisy, she'd only seen the ultrasound and the baby photo after she was born. Naomi had actually met Rachel for a second before she was carted away and given to her dads. As much as she loved her dads wholeheartedly, she did wonder what life would have been like if she'd grown up with Shelby as her mother from the beginning

oOoOo

Beth was staying at Daisy's house with Naomi while Rachel, Shelby and Daisy went to the hospital. There were more nerves again but she tried to ignore them as her grandmother was also questioning her on the pregnancy.

"So Shelb was saying that you're having twins," she said.

"Yeah, I am," Rachel replied smiling. "My boyfriend seems really happy about that."

"So he's sticking around and helping you?" She asked.

"Yeah, Noah's a great boyfriend and he loves me and the twins. I probably wouldn't have kept them if I didn't have him by my side," Rachel admitted blushing slightly.

"He sounds great, I hope I'll get to meet him someday," Daisy said smiling at Rachel.

"I do too," Rachel muttered.

Shelby looked on at her mom and her daughter together. She never thought this would ever have happened but she was so glad it had. Being here where she grew up, with her mom, sister and daughters was something she wanted to cherish. The only thing that was negative about it was the fact that her dad was in hospital.

Daisy asked at the desk for Jack Corcoran and they were led to his room. His rooms kept changing because he kept going from critical to manageable.

"Jack honey," Daisy whispered as they walked into his ward, "You have some special visitors."

The man in the bed also looked like Shelby. They had the same nose and the same smile but he had grey hair and grey eyes. Jack sat up slightly and his smile brightened when he saw Shelby and got bigger, if that was possible, when he saw Rachel.

"So I finally get to meet the precious Rachel," he said happily.

"Yes," Shelby replied. "Dad, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is your granddad."

"You can call me Gramps if you like, Naomi's sons do," Jack said.

"I'd love to," Rachel told him and his smile never faulted.

They started the visit swapping questions with each other about their lives. Daisy and Jack told Rachel about how Shelby was when she was younger, including some of the embarrassing things Shelby hoped they wouldn't say. Rachel was already excited to share this news with Beth when she was older. In return Rachel told her grandparents stories from when she was growing up, with all of the music competitions and drama in school. They spoke briefly about Shelby's attempt to find Rachel during her sophomore year.

"I told you that you shouldn't have done that," Daisy chided.

"I know," Shelby mumbled. It was brilliant for Rachel to see her mom in a position where she admitted to being wrong. It was something she wasn't used to.

The conversation moved onto music and the passion behind it. Jack spoke about his piano playing and Daisy spoke about her days in the choir. It was obvious that music and talent was genetic. Naomi was even a protégé on the flute but she gave it in when she got to high school. She picked it up again after she had Brady and is now in an extremely famous philharmonic orchestra that plays around the world. She also does master classes on the instrument too.

"She'll give you a demonstration if you ask nicely," Daisy said.

"That would be nice," Rachel mused.

A couple of moments later, a nurse walked in and started checking over Jack.

"I'm afraid it's time to leave so Mr Corcoran can get some rest," the nurse told them.

They all nodded and Daisy stroked Jack's head and Shelby squeezed his hand in comfort.

"Can I talk to Rachel for a second before you go?" Jack asked.

Rachel nodded and the nurse, Shelby and Daisy walked out to leave them alone.

"You're pregnant," he stated.

"I know," Rachel replied guiltily and hung her head down. She barely knew this man, but she didn't want him to be disappointed in her. He was her grandfather after all.

"I've wanted to meet you all of your life and I'm so glad I finally have. You seem like a bright and talented girl, I'm positive you'll be okay with the pregnancy, Shelby managed, I'm sure you will," he told her honestly.

"Thank you," she muttered, "I'm glad I've met you too."

"I'm just sad that it had to be like this," he murmured indicating his current predicament.

"I know, but you're going to get better, I can feel it," she replied.

"I love you, Rach and I cannot wait to get to know you properly," he said sincerely.

"I love you, too, Gramps," she told him. "I'll come back tomorrow to see you."

She squeezed his hand like Shelby had and stepped outside and met up with her mother and grandmother, telling them about what had happened. Daisy smiled fondly at Jack's reaction to the pregnancy. They were both kind hearted people and were fortunate that their granddaughter was a beautiful, kind and gifted as Shelby had told them.

oOoOo

Later that night after Rachel had rang Puck to tell him about what had happened, she was sitting on her bed, well technically her mom's old bed, reading a book to Beth. It was the tale of Cinderella and how she'd become a princess. Beth was enjoying the time with Rachel and was giggling at the faces Rachel was pulling as she read the story to her. Unbeknownst to them, Naomi and Daisy were stood by the door watching her.

Naomi nodded downstairs and Daisy followed her there. They saw that Shelby was on the phone and decided to creep up behind her like they used to do when Naomi and Shelby were teenagers. However, as they got closer, they heard what Shelby was saying.

"Yeah, it's great seeing my parents and my sister again but I really miss you too." She paused to listen to what the voice was saying on the other end and laughed. "Yeah, it's been less than a day but you know how I feel about you Will, I want to be by your side all the time."

It was when she said this that Naomi and Daisy couldn't help kill the mood.

"Shelby and Will, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" They chanted.

Spinning quickly, Shelby realised she wasn't alone anymore. "I'll see you tomorrow evening sweetie, I need to kill my mother and my sister. I love you, bye!" She then hung up the phone and did her famous Coach Corcoran glare at them.

"Oh come now, Shelb, that glare doesn't work on me; I taught you it," Daisy chuckled and sat down next to her youngest daughter.

"Why did you interrupt my phone call?" Shelby asked grumbling still.

"We were going to tell you that Rachel will make a good mother but we wondered who was on the phone," Naomi replied smiling.

"You didn't tell us you had a boyfriend," Daisy stated.

"I hadn't had the chance," Shelby defended. Daisy raised her eyebrow at her. "I didn't, there's Dad and Rachel too."

"Can you just tell us about him?" Naomi pleaded.

"Okay," Shelby caved rolling her eyes, "He's the director of the Glee club at the school I work at. He's called Will Schuester and he's amazing. He's really good with Beth and he's helped Rachel so much over the last couple of years."

"With what?" Daisy asked.

"With my confidence and singing and being a person really," Rachel said as she walked into the living room after putting Beth to bed.

"That's amazing," Naomi mused.

For the rest of the night the four of them spoke about Shelby and Will's relationship. They then moved on to Rachel and Puck. The conversation then moved on to Naomi's relationships. She'd been married once but that wasn't to Brady's father, Colin. After Brady was born they realised that they didn't work. She was married to a man called Peter which also didn't work. She had three sons, obviously Brady, who was 22, with Colin but she had Tommy and Jamie, who were 17, with Peter. It was after the disastrous relationship with Peter she fully came to terms that she was actually a lesbian. She's been in a relationship with Amelia Jordan for 15 years and she's never been happier.

"Mia will be here tomorrow and so will the boys, they all want to meet you so badly," Naomi revealed.

"Great, more family members," Rachel joked rolling her eyes just the same way Shelby always did. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep, night."

Daisy stood and hugged her before Shelby kissed her on her forehead muttering, "Night baby."


	20. Chapter 20

When Rachel woke up, she realised that it was another day of meeting family members; she was meeting her three cousins that she'd never heard of before and her auntie's girlfriend who she'd never heard of either. After this, she was going to the hospital again with her mom to visit her grandfather before they headed back to Lima so Rachel could spend an hour or two with Puck and complete her homework before she returned to school on Monday. But before she could daydream about her reunion with Puck, she needed to get up and ready for the day ahead.

She quietly jumped out of bed and took a quick shower in the en suit before sorting out her hair and make up for the day. She dressed in jeans again and a different jumper with a tank top underneath to keep her warm with the bitter weather.

Before she knew it, she was sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen eating a bagel and drinking coffee and talking to her grandmother.

"You look worried, Rachel," Daisy stated.

"I'm not," Rachel replied a little too quickly to be taken seriously.

"Seriously, Amelia is a lovely lady and the boys are great. Tommy and Jamie are only a year below you, I'm sure you'll get on great," her grandmother reassured her.

"I hope so," she muttered.

Footsteps were heard behind her along with a giggling toddler. Rachel turned and saw her mother enter the kitchen with Beth on her hip. Shelby was pulling faces at the toddler to entertain her but as soon as she saw Rachel, she cried, "Rachie!" and started to giggle more. Rachel hopped off the chair and ran to her sister and lifted her out of her mom's lap before returning back to her seat and helping Beth eat her breakfast Daisy had put on the table.

"We were saying last night that you'll make an amazing mother," Daisy commented watching how Beth reacted to Rachel.

"I'm looking forward to it actually, but I'm terrified at the same time," Rachel said absentmindedly as she pulled faces at Beth while she helped her eat her banana.

"You'll be perfect," Shelby murmured and stepped up behind her daughters and kissed them both on the forehead.

Five minutes later, the door crashed open and five people walked into the kitchen with Rachel only knowing one of them. Shelby stepped forward and hugged her sister before turning and hugging the other woman that was obviously Amelia. She wasn't what Rachel was expecting at all. She was taller than Naomi and Shelby with long red hair and blue eyes. She was slim and had a similar style of fashion to Shelby. Shelby then pulled all three boys in for a hug, all three groaning at their aunt's actions.

"Auntie Shelby, is this necessary?" The oldest one, who was obviously Brady, asked.

"Yes, I haven't seen my favourite neffypoos in such a long time!" Shelby cried.

"Whose fault is that?" One of the twins grumbled.

The three boys had a resemblance; they had the same build that Rachel recognised from her grandfather yesterday. Brady had light brown hair and matched his mother's grey eyes. The twins would be identical if it wasn't for the fact that they had their hair differently. One had short hair and the other had his longer but both had blonde hair with blue eyes. All three had a similar fashion sense and Rachel knew Puck would approve of their attire.

"Boys, come on in and introduce yourselves to your cousins," Daisy commanded.

Brady was the first to step forward.

"Hello, I'm Brady Corcoran and I'm twenty two, you must be Rachel," he announced to Rachel and then looked to Beth and smiled, "And you must be Beth," he added.

The toddler looked round at the mention of her name and smiled. "Me Beth, this Rachie, that momma but no 'Ah," she grumbled at the last part.

"Ah?" Daisy asked.

"She means Noah, my boyfriend," Rachel replied clearing up all the confused looks in the room. She looked back to Brady and said, "It's nice to meet you Brady."

The twins then stepped forward and introduced themselves.

"I'm Tommy," the one with short hair said and chuckled.

"I'm Jamie," the one with long hair chuckled too.

"No, it's the other way round," Rachel stated, "I'm not stupid, I'm getting quite good at telling when people are lying."

"She's good," Rachel heard Amelia whisper to Naomi.

"She's definitely Shelby's daughter, I'll say that much," Naomi replied. Naomi then raised her voice so everyone could hear her. "Boys, don't be a pain to your cousin when you've just met her."

"Yes Mom," they both grumbled.

"We're sorry," the one with shorter hair said. "I'm Jamie and this is Tommy."

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel muttered before turning her attention back to Beth and the banana she still hadn't finished eating.

The twins left the kitchen and went into the back room where the games were and Brady sat next to Shelby and struck up a conversation. Naomi kissed Amelia and headed over to Daisy to help with the pots and to sort some food out for her and Amelia. That left Amelia on her own so she decided to sit next to Rachel.

"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself," she said, "I'm Amelia."

"Hello, I'm Rachel," Rachel replied quietly.

"You're not what I expected," Amelia muttered, "I didn't really know what to expect but I didn't think I'd see a mini Shelby."

"A mini Shelby?" Rachel asked with confusion plastered on her face.

"You're just like Shelby when she was younger," Amelia explained. She then told Rachel about how Shelby was at high school.

It turned out that Amelia and Shelby were in the same year and were extremely good friends. They were both in the glee club and Shelby was obviously the lead singer. Amelia was the Santana of the group, extremely bitchy because she was misunderstood; however, she wasn't a cheerleader. It turned out that Shelby too, stormed out when she didn't get her way. It was only when she met a boy called Carter Mills that she stopped being so dramatic. They were high school sweethearts but he broke her heart a year after high school.

"It was just after that that she saw the ad from your parents," Amelia revealed.

That was partly why Shelby decided to carry Rachel with the fact that it would take her mind off of the break up but after Rachel was born, she became critically depressed.

"She's loved you since the first scan and saw your heart beating, Naomi and I went with her," Mia said smiling at the memory.

It was through music that Shelby became less depressed. She started playing piano again and singing. She travelled more and finally settling in Lima teaching at Carmel High.

"She actually liked teaching there until she realised that you weren't going to be attending that high school," Amelia continued. "She loves teaching you now though, she texts me all the time."

"So you know about my concussion and pregnancy?" Rachel asked. Amelia nodded and went to reply but Shelby walked over.

"Now you've stopped discussing my past I'd like to take my daughters to the park," Shelby said smiling at the two.

"Really, Mom? The park?"

"You can stay here if you like," Shelby offered shrugging.

"If you wouldn't mind," Rachel replied. "I'd love to get to know Amelia and Naomi more."

"That's fine," Shelby said.

After helping Beth with her shoes and coat, the two left the house and walked to the park. Rachel stayed in the kitchen with Naomi and Amelia. Brady and Daisy joined the twins in the game room. For an older lady, Daisy was still 'down with the kids' in her words. She had all the latest technology and was always playing with the boys. Rachel knew that Puck would love to be here, he'd get on great with her cousins and her gran for that matter.

Rachel, Naomi and Amelia stayed in the kitchen longer and discussed many different things from subjects at school, to the weather and fashion sense. They spoke a little about Rachel's pregnancy and Rachel said all she knew: she was having twins. It was still a couple of weeks away until she could find out the sexes of the babies so she and Puck could start the process of choosing the names.

The subject Rachel really wanted to know was how the two got together. She was intrigued at the idea that Naomi didn't realise she was lesbian until she'd had three kids with men.

"I know you're dying to ask, Rachel," Naomi murmured after they'd spoken about why Rachel was a vegan.

"You don't have to be afraid, we'll tell you," Amelia continued.

"Okay, how did you two get together?" Rachel asked after taking a deep breath.

"Well, we've always been friends," Naomi began, "And it was after my marriage turned to shambles that we became really close."

"Yeah, I've known I was gay since I was fifteen but never really told anyone apart from your mom and your auntie," Amelia continued, "And since I was fifteen, I crushed on Naomi."

"I always had a doubt at the back of my mind about my sexuality and it was when Peter and I ended things that I realised that I was gay. I'd stay out late at Mia's and not want to go home. When my marriage finished, it was Mia I turned to for support and our friendship turned to love and I've never been happier," Naomi revealed.

"You have no idea how happy I was that she chose me after all those years," Mia added looking Naomi in the eye and took her hand in hers.

The two leaned close and kissed each other sweetly. It was at this moment that Rachel decided to go up to her bedroom, well technically her mom's old bedroom. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick message to Puck.

**I'm missing you so much and it's only been a day. I can't wait to see you tonight, I love you.**

It was less than five minutes later when her phone started to ring. She looked down and saw, 'Noah Calling' and she immediately picked it up. The next hour or so was spent on the phone to her true love, neither of them wanting to hang up. It was only when Shelby returned later that she had to put her phone down; she was going to visit her granddad again.

oOoOo

Jack had been moved to another ward because he was getting better again. When Rachel and Shelby entered, he was sitting up and reading the paper.

"If it isn't two of my favourite girls!" Jack called happily.

"Hey Gramps," Rachel greeted as Shelby said, "Hey dad."

"How have you been?" Jack asked as Shelby sat in the chair next to the bed and Rachel sat on the end.

"Not bad, Rach met Mia and the boys this morning," Shelby replied.

"How did that go?"

"Brady seems okay but the twins seem a little annoying. I love Amelia already though," Rachel revealed.

She felt like her and Amelia had really clicked, better than when she first met her mom. It was too complicated then for them both but this year, Rachel and Shelby had finally clicked and had the mother/daughter relationship they'd always craved.

For the rest of the afternoon, Rachel, Shelby and Jack talked about many different things, but all featured around Rachel and Beth.

"I hope I get to meet her one day," Jack said.

"You will, as soon as you're out you'll get to see her, I promise," Shelby replied.

"She's amazing," Rachel mused, "the best sister ever."

That was how Rachel saw Beth. They were sisters. Beth wasn't her boyfriend's daughter and when the twins were born, Beth would be their auntie, but she knew they'd grow up to be like siblings or cousins and that seemed perfect too.

The three started discussing Beth more and Rachel's pregnancy and before they knew it, it was time that Shelby and Rachel had to leave as visiting hours were over.

"We'll see you soon," Shelby promised.

Both she and Rachel kissed Jack on the forehead before bidding goodbye and leaving. They went back to Daisy's to pick up their bags, collect Beth and say goodbye to everyone before going back to Lima. Naomi made sure that Rachel had hers and Amelia's numbers so that she could talk to them when she needed. Daisy did the same and told Rachel to ring her whenever and she would answer.

Shelby and Rachel hugged their family members' goodbye before going out to Shelby's car and driving back to Lima.

"Had fun?" Shelby asked about an hour into the journey.

"Yes, your family are amazing," Rachel replied fondly, "I'd just wish that you'd have told me about them beforehand."

"I didn't realise you'd want to know," her mother said and shrugged. "The nurse said that dad's improving though. If it continues, he'll be out in a couple of weeks."

"That's great, and it's just reminded me of something," Rachel realised, "I need to book an appointment for a scan. It's coming up to twelve weeks…it's almost time to find out the sexes."

"I'm so excited," Shelby mused and smiled.

oOoOo

The two returned to Lima before dark and Shelby dropped Rachel off at her dads' house before driving back to her own apartment with Beth.

"Rach!" Leroy cried as soon as she'd stepped over the threshold. He and Hiram jumped off of the sofa and threw their arms around their daughter.

"Dads…suffocating!" Rachel choked and the two men back off slightly.

"Sorry, angel," Hiram said, "We've just missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," Rachel reassured them, "but I've had a great weekend meeting Shelby's family."

Rachel never called Shelby 'mom' in front of her dads because she didn't want to hurt their feelings. She knew that they'd altered the contract so that Shelby was technically Rachel's mother formally but she didn't know how they'd react to her calling Shelby 'mom'.

"I bet they're not as amazing as my parents," Leroy joked.

"No, they're better!" Rachel replied. She wasn't lying. Leroy's parents were lovely, yes, but they were a little old fashioned. Hiram's parents had died just after Rachel was born. His father died first in a car crash and he believed his mother passed away a couple of months afterwards because of a broken heart.

"We're glad you had fun," Hiram said and kissed Rachel on her forehead just as there was a knock on the door.

Rachel walked over and opened the front door and smiled brightly. Puck quickly threw his arms around Rachel and picked her up, peppering her face in kissed.

"Be careful, Noah!" Leroy warned and the teen quickly put Rachel down gently and kissed her properly.

"We'll be upstairs," Rachel murmured and took Puck's hand and led him upstairs.

oOoOo

An hour later, Rachel and Puck were getting ready to leave again as they, along with Shelby, Will and Beth, were going out for the family meal Shelby had promised. It wasn't going to be anything fancy; they were just going to have a small meal together at Breadstix.

Rachel was wearing a short, deep blue dress with black heels. Her hair was tied up and her makeup was subtle but she had bright red lips. Puck was wearing his smart jeans that had no scuffs or rips with a smart shirt, Will was wearing something similar but with black trouser. Shelby wore a halter neck purple dress with matching heels and Beth was wearing a cute white dressed with thick tights.

The 'family' met at Breadstix and enjoyed their meals discussing the past weekend where.

"I can't wait to meet your grandparents, aunts and cousins," Puck said. "They sound great."

"I'm a little apprehensive about your mother though," Will murmured.

"She's great," Rachel replied fondly, laughing at her teacher.

Before they all knew it, the time had gone and it was late. Rachel needed sleep before school the next day. Shelby kissed her on her forehead and Rachel then hugged Beth goodbye and they parted. Will, Shelby and Beth going to Shelby's apartment and Puck driving Rachel home before returning to his house. All content that they were truly becoming a family. All Will had to do was make it official and he was going to put a ring around Shelby's finger before the end of the year. He just didn't know how yet.

_Where have all my reviewers gone? It makes me sad, if you're not liking my story anymore, tell me so I can adjust it so you can like it. Reviews make me want to continue writing. As I said, I'm busy with college but the more you review, I'll try and work on my story more. Thanks for all the favourites and reviews previously though. Talk to y'all later, :') _


	21. Chapter 21

It had been about a month since Rachel and Shelby had returned from Columbus and Jack was finally out of hospital and his health was much better. Since being back, Rachel had weekly phone calls with Daisy, Jack, Naomi and Amelia, all talking about different things. With Daisy and Naomi, she spoke about lessons and her pregnancy, with Jack they discussed his past and he told her about Shelby when she was younger and with Amelia she spoke about everything. It was similar to the relationship Rachel had formed with Shelby, she felt she could tell Amelia everything and was surprised that Mia felt the same way.

Sectionals was now a week away so everyone in the glee club was busy practising hard but that wasn't the only thing going on for Rachel, Puck, Carly and Finn. It was time to find out the sex of the babies.

Rachel and Puck were the first to find out the sexes of their twins. The young couple were sat in the maternity ward waiting room with their hands clasped together.

"Rachel Berry!" The nurse called and the two rose from their seats and followed the nurse through to the room. "On the bed please, Rachel," the nurse instructed cheerfully.

Rachel did what she was told and Puck stepped forward and took her hand in his. The nurse pulled up Rachel's top and began the scan. This time, Rachel was braced for the freezing gel but it still made her shiver slightly. The nurse then set up the screen and Rachel and Puck saw their babies once more.

They were obviously more developed then last time and both Rachel and Puck were ecstatic to see and hear the echoing beats of the babies' hearts.

"Now, are you sure you want to know the sexes?" The nurse asked after she confirmed that they babies' developments were going perfectly.

"We're sure," Rachel replied nervously.

"You're going to be the parents of one little boy and one little girl!" The nurse announced.

"One of each!" Puck cried and smiled brightly before kissing Rachel on her forehead.

When they'd spoken about the babies, in the past both of them had discussed if the babies were going to be two girls or two boys, they hadn't really spoken about the possibility of having one boy and one girl. However, they were both happy to discover that they would be getting a mini Puck and a mini Rachel.

"Here's your DVD and pictures," the nurse said handing Rachel the envelope, "and we'll see you in a couple more months." The nurse then showed them out to the waiting room.

As the two made their way out, they passed Carly and Finn who were sitting nervously in the waiting room. Rachel smiled reassuringly at a worried Carly. Carly returned the smile and started to calm down slightly, much to Finn's relief.

oOoOo

"We still need a group number for Sectionals!" Shelby announced that afternoon in Glee Club. "We have two beautiful but slow songs so far. Now we need an up tempo one."

"Call Me by Blondie?" Quinn suggested.

"Nice song but I don't think it's Sectionals material," Mr Schuester replied, "Maybe Regionals."

"Accidently In Love?" Tina asked, surprising everyone by her song choice, "By Counting Crows?"

"Perfect!" Shelby cried. "Why don't we have the verses sang by couples and the chorus by everyone?"

Everyone agreed bar Artie and Sugar. The two glanced at each other before looking away immediately. It was common knowledge that Artie had feelings for Sugar but had never acted on them. It was unknown if the feelings were returned.

The rest of the session was decided which couple sang which verse and Brittany and Mike began choreographing dance moves with heavy tension between Artie and Sugar.

oOoOo

"Rachel, can we talk for a second please?" Carly asked as everyone started to file out of the choir room.

"Of course," Rachel replied.

"I'll meet you by the truck," Puck said to his girlfriend and kissed her goodbye.

Once everyone had left, the two sat on the piano stool for comfort.

"I found out the sex of the baby earlier," Carly began.

"Me too!" Rachel replied enthusiastically, "Boy or girl?"

"Boy," the ex-cheerleader revealed with a grimace, "that's why I wanted to talk to you. What about your twins?"

"One of each," Rachel said, "We're so happy. You should be too!"

"I desperately wanted a girl though," Carly admitted.

"You can try for a girl later in life. Be happy with your son, he'll bring you so much joy no matter what," Rachel said.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Carly stated with confusion on her face.

"I speak to my mom and aunties about it all the time. My dads and gran help out too," Rachel revealed.

"My parents hate me," Carly admitted and a tear slipped down her beautiful face.

It now dawned on Rachel why Carly was so depressed all the time. She hadn't noticed it at first as she didn't know the other girl very well but with Carly now being in glee, Rachel saw her confidence getting lower and lower. She knew that it was nothing to do with Finn. Finn was always one to try and help someone gain confidence, not lose it. With Hiram and Leroy being okay with Rachel's pregnancy, she'd forgotten that that might not be the case for Carly.

"Then you're moving in with me!" Rachel said simply.

So that's what happened. Rachel asked Puck to give Carly a lift to house to collect a few belongings before they drove to Rachel's.

oOoOo

When Hiram and Leroy got home from work later on, they were confused to see Carly sitting with Rachel and Puck on the sofa.

"Rach, a word please," Leroy requested and walked into the kitchen with Hiram following him.

Rachel jumped off of Puck's lap and smoothed down the back of her dress. Carly started to shake with nerves but Rachel smiled at her.

"It's going to be fine," Rachel assured her. Carly nodded but still shook slightly.

Once in the kitchen, Rachel sat at the breakfast bar by her fathers.

"What's up?"

"Why's she here?" Leroy asked lightly. They weren't annoyed that Rachel had people over without permission, but they recognised Carly as she was also pregnant and fitted Rachel's description of the girl.

This is when Rachel explained about Carly's parents hating her because of what had happened. The Cross' were known across Lima, maybe even all Ohio and their reputation had been destroyed with Carly being pregnant. It was the same as Quinn's parents but they didn't have the nerve to throw her out.

"Can she stay here?" Rachel requested as she finished her story.

"Of course," Hiram said immediately.

The three Berrys walked into the lounge where Puck was trying to comfort a hysteric Carly. Rachel quickly rushed over and put her arm around the other brunette girl. After murmuring something in Carly's ear, Rachel looked up expectantly at her fathers.

"Carly," Leroy began softly walking over to kneel in front of her, "You can stay here as long as you like. If it becomes necessary, we can even become your guardians."

"Really?" Carly asked.

"We promise. You and Rachel are in the same situation, it would be cruel if we didn't help you out as your parents are being ridiculous," Hiram replied and placed his hand on Carly's shoulder.

For the first time in a while, she felt like she had a family. The only thing that would make it better was if Finn was here with them.

As soon as that thought ran through her head, the doorbell rang and Puck crossed the room to open the door to reveal Finn. He crossed the room quickly and kissed Carly sweetly. Half an hour later, the rest of the glee club arrived and everyone spent the rest of the night on the sofa watching films until it was late and they all had to drive home. Puck had helped Rachel and Carly put the latter's belongings in one of the guest rooms. In truth, she didn't have that many with her, they would collect more and explain to her parents this weekend. For now, she'd left them a note telling them where she was and she had clothes for school and all of her school things and medication with her.

oOoOo

The next morning, Rachel and Carly were driven to school by Puck and the two parted ways, Carly to find Finn and Rachel and Puck going to Shelby's office. Last night, after everyone had gone home, Rachel had received a text message from her mother requesting her presence in her office in the morning. There was a p.s at the bottom stating that Puck could tag along too.

Once the two got to the older Rachel's office, they had to cough loudly as she and Will were lip locking in the corner. When they older couple heard the cough, they sprang apart immediately.

"Seriously, you two are worse than us!" Rachel cried and rolled her eyes at their blush.

"I'll see you later, sweetheart," Will said and after one last kiss, he left his girlfriend's office and headed to his own.

Rachel shook her head and she and Puck perched on the desk as Shelby straightened up her blouse and sorted out her hair.

"So why did you want us?" Rachel asked.

"Can you babysit again on Friday?" Shelby requesting giving her daughter her best puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, I guess," Rachel replied and looked up at Puck.

"I can't though, I told you that I'm going to a football match with Mike and Sam," Puck told her. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Rachel shrugged. "I'll be there whenever you need me on Friday."

oOoOo

When it was Friday night, it was the first time that Rachel and Beth had had an entire evening together and they both loved it. They watched a film together until Beth started to get sleepy so Rachel picked her up and lifted her into her bedroom. Rachel read a short story to the little girl and she was asleep as soon as Rachel had finished.

Rachel spent the rest of the night completing homework until she heard crying coming from Beth bedroom. She sighed and put down her pen and crossed the hall entering the infant's bedroom.

Rachel stroked her sister's blond hair. "Shush sweetie," she murmured, "Rachie's here."

Beth's sobs started to die down slightly so Rachel kissed her forehead and started to stand up but she was stopped as Beth reached out her hand trying to grab her sister's. Deciding quickly, Rachel started stroking Beth's hair again and started singing to the girl.

"A new day  
A new day

I was waiting for so long  
For a miracle to come  
Everyone told me to be strong  
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times  
I knew I'd make it through  
And the world thought I had it all  
But I was waiting for you

Hush now  
I see a light in the sky  
Oh, it's almost blinding me  
I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun  
A new day has come

Where it was dark now there's light  
Where there was pain now there's joy  
Where there was weakness, I found my strength  
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush now  
I see a light in the sky  
Oh, it's almost blinding me  
I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has  
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears  
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears  
Let it shatter the walls for a new, new sun

A new day has come  
Ohhh, a light  
Hush now  
I see a light in your eyes  
All in the eyes of the boy

I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

I can't believe  
I've been touched by an angel with love

Hush now  
Hush now."

When she finished singing, Beth was asleep and Rachel stood up to leave. She almost shrieked when she saw Shelby and Will standing by the door with huge smiles on their faces.

"Don't do that again!" She growled quietly. "I just got her to sleep again, I could have woken her up again by screaming!"

"Sorry sweetie," Shelby apologised, "but you were singing so beautifully that we didn't want to miss it."

"We'll definitely win Sectionals if you sing it like that," Will stated and smiled.

"I'm going to go home," Rachel muttered as she was tired and didn't want to become more tired as she had to drive with Puck not being there.

"See you Monday," Shelby replied and kissed Rachel on her forehead before her daughter left.

As soon as Rachel was out the door, Will leant down and kissed Shelby sweetly but it became more heated and the rushed off to Shelby's bedroom without any words swapped.

_Thank you guys so much on the feedback from the last chapter. My doubts started really eating me up and your reviews with reassurance made me feel better. I'm so sorry about the gaps between chapters. I get annoyed when writers do that and now I'm doing it myself, I'm trying to add more chapters and write them but my college work is exhausting. I hope you're okay with the sexes of the babies, I been debating them for such a long time. I hope you enjoy this chapter and review with your thoughts. Thank you so much again and I'll talk to you all later!_


	22. Chapter 22

Finally, after months of hard work and many dramas, it was the day of Sectionals. The New Directions were competing against the Unitards and Aural Intensity. They were quietly confident about winning but didn't want to voice it in case it affected their performance.

Mr Schuester, Shelby and Coach Beiste were the chaperones and were ushering the members onto the coach to make sure they were there on time so they could warm up fully and see the other teams' performances.

The bus ride was tense, despite everyone, bar Artie, Sugar and Coach Beiste, sitting with their other halves. Artie was yet to make his move even though all the other boys have given him advice and had even set up chances for him to ask Sugar out but it was to no avail; Artie chickened out every time.

When they reached the school where the Sectionals were taking place, Mr Schuester asked Puck and Mike to help Artie off of the bus while he and Shelby signed everyone in and sorted out where their dressing room was.

"You have got to do it today!" Puck was saying to Artie after everyone left.

"Yeah, you know she likes you," Mike stated.

Actually Artie didn't know this but obviously Mike did. He later revealed to Puck that Sugar had admitted it to Tina the other day.

"Really?" Artie asked.

"Yes," Mike replied. "After we win, you're going to ask her out. Promise?"

"Fine!" Artie huffed and rolled towards the building with Puck and Mike following.

Once everyone was there, Mr Schuester announced that they will be performing last. So with that said, the group left the dressing room and headed to the auditorium to support and secretly judge the other choirs.

The Unitards were the first to perform. The girls were in deep purple dresses and the boys were in suits with matching ties. They sang a medley of songs by Maroon 3 including 'Moves like Jagger' and She Will Be Loved'. Their dancing was mediocre and their voices were far too chirpy for the songs they chose. It definitely wasn't the best performance they had given. You could tell that they were disappointed as they walked of the stage.

After a short interlude, Aural Intensity made their way onto the stage wearing multi-coloured suits. It was no surprised when they began singing songs from the musical 'Joseph and His Technicoloured Dream Coat'. Their performance was a slight improvement to the Unitards but it couldn't be called fabulous.

When the New Directions were getting ready in their dressing room, they all knew they had it in the bag. With the main vocals featuring Rachel, Santana and Mercedes, along with the flawless (and Finn-proof) choreography by Mike and Brittany, anything different from them winning was ludicrous.

The girls were wearing a white blouse with a short layered black skirt with black wedges. The boys were wearing light blue shirts and black trousers. Despite the differences in colours, the outfits worked well together, something Tina and Mercedes were proud of as it was them, with a little help from Kurt, who decided what to wear.

Just before the curtain went up, Rachel suddenly ran to her mom and threw her arms around her.

"Rach, what's wrong?" Shelby asked frantically.

"I just wanted to tell you that this song's for you!" Rachel replied before smiling and taking the microphone Puck was holding out for her.

Shelby dashed off into the seats and Rachel walked slowly out onto the stage and the spotlight hit her. The band kicked in and the audience were serenaded with her precious voice as Shelby watched in the audience next to Will. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she listened to Rachel sing 'A New Day Has Come' as perfectly as she sang it to Beth a few nights before. Shelby was happy all of the time now; she had the best boyfriend she'd ever had, her family were all well and she had the best daughters in the world.

When Rachel finished singing, the audience irrupted in cheers and gave her a standing ovation. No one was louder or prouder than Shelby. Rachel bowed before trading places with Santana and Mercedes as they began singing their duet.

(**Mercedes** _Santana_ Both)

"**Many nights we've prayed  
With no proof anyone could hear  
In our hearts, a hopeful song  
We barely understood**

**Now we are not afraid  
Although we know there's much to fear  
We were moving mountains long  
Before we knew we could, oh yes**

**There can be miracles when you believe  
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill  
Who knows what miracles you can achieve  
When you believe, somehow you will  
You will when you believe**

_Oh yeah, in this time of fear  
When prayer so often proves in vain  
Hope seems like the summer birds  
Too swiftly flown away  
Yet now I'm standing here  
My heart so full I can't explain_  
_Seeking faith and speaking words  
I never thought I'll say_

_There can be miracles when you believe  
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill  
_Who knows what miracles _you can achieve_  
_When you believe, somehow you will_  
You will when you believe

They don't always happen when you ask  
And it's easy to give in to your fears  
But when you're blinded by your pain  
Can't see the way, get through the rain  
A small but still, **resilient voice**  
**Says hope is very near, oh**

There can be miracles when you believe  
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill  
_Who knows what miracles you can achieve_  
_When you believe, _**somehow you will**  
You will when you believe  
  
_You will when you_  
**You will when you believe**  
_Just believe_  
**Just believe**  
_You will when you_ believe"

Just like the end of Rachel's performance, the crowd all stood and clapped and cheered loudly for the girls. The two bowed and stepped backwards as all of the members of the New Directions walked onto the stage and stood in pairs.

(**Puck** _Rachel_ Both)

"**So she said what's the problem baby  
What's the problem I don't know**  
_Well maybe I'm in love _**(love)**_  
Think about it every time  
I think about it_  
Can't stop thinking 'bout it

(**Joe **_Quinn_ Both)  
**How much longer will it take to cure this**  
_Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love_** (love) **_  
_Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing 'bout love 

(all)  
Come on, come on  
(Blaine)Turn a little faster  
Come on, come on  
(Blaine)The world will follow after  
Come on, come on  
(Blaine)Cause everybody's after love

(**Finn** _Carly_ Both)  
**So I said I'm a snowball running  
Running down into the spring that's coming all this love**  
_Melting under blue skies  
Belting out sunlight_  
Shimmering love

(**Mike** _Tina_ Both)  
**Well baby I surrender  
To the strawberry ice cream**  
_Never ever end of all this love  
Well I didn't mean to do it_  
**But there's no escaping your love**

(Kurt and Blaine)  
These lines of lightning  
Mean we're never alone,  
Never alone, no, no

(All)  
Come on, Come on  
(Santana)Move a little closer  
Come on, Come on  
(Santana)I want to hear you whisper  
Come on, Come on  
(Santana)Settle down inside my love

Come on, come on  
(Puck)Jump a little higher  
Come on, come on  
(Puck)If you feel a little lighter  
Come on, come on  
(Puck)We were once  
Upon a time in love

(Santana)  
We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Brittany)

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Artie)

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Sugar)

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Mercedes)

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Sam)

We're accidentally in love  
Accidentally in love

(Rachel)  
Accidentally

(All)  
I'm In Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
(Rachel) Accidentally

I'm In Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
I'm in Love, I'm in Love,  
(Rachel) Accidentally

Come on, come on  
(Finn)Spin a little tighter  
Come on, come on  
(Finn)And the world's a little brighter  
Come on, come on  
(Finn)Just get yourself inside her

(Puck and Rachel)  
Love ...I'm in love"

After this performance the entire audience, including the judges, gave the group a standing ovation and cheered loudly. Everyone on stage grinned and ran off to their dressing room all cheering about how well the performance had gone. As soon as they got there, Artie rolled over to Sugar.

"Sugar, I would be delighted if you would accept to go on a date with me tonight after we win this competition," he said bravely.

"If we win, sure," Sugar replied and smiled brightly at him. She knew just like everyone else that they were going to win.

A few moments later, Mr Schuester, Shelby and Coach Beiste arrived with a box of bottles of water and a snack of some sort.

"You guys were so amazing!" Mr Schuester said after all the water was handed out.

"I'm so proud of you guys," Shelby added. "The performances were flawless."

"Nice dancing there, too, Finn," Mr Schuester joked and Finn laughed with him.

The New Directions stayed in their dressing room until they were called back onto the stage. The three different groups stood huddled together, each holding hands with someone in support.

The main judge, that no one knew, stepped forward.

"In second place is Aural Intensity!" She announced and the coach of that group stepped forward and took the trophy and smiled. After all, second place was better than last.

"And the winners for this year's Sectionals are the New Directions!" She called and Mr Schuester ran forward and collected the trophy on their behalf.

There were tears of joy and lots of hugs between the members. Many of the couples even kissed in euphoria. But no moment was as special as Shelby throwing her arms round Rachel and kissing her forehead.

"I'm so proud of you, my darling," she whispered into her ear.

"That's all I've ever wanted to hear," Rachel replied and they hugged tighter until they had to leave the stage with everyone else.

oOoOo

When everyone arrived back at McKinley later that afternoon, everyone broke off into pairs and went their separate ways. Carly and Finn were going to the former's old house to pick up some more of her things to take to Rachel's and were then going out for a meal. Rachel and Puck went straight to Rachel's house. They hadn't had much time together recently and were missing the comfort they gave each other.

Once they were at the Berry household, Rachel went to get some snacks including popcorn, vegan and normal ice-cream, chocolate and drinks while Puck went through her DVDs and set the system up for them to watch one. After he'd chosen the film, he ran upstairs and brought down pillows and blankets and through then on the sofa.

Finally, after everything was done, Rachel snuggled into Puck's comforting embrace and Puck pressed play. They shared the food, sometimes feeding the other person and at random moments, puck would lean down and kiss Rachel on her forehead or on her nose or the lips. It was just as their most recent kiss was starting to get heated, when Carly and Finn stepped through the door carrying boxes.

"Are you sure this is okay still?" Carly asked apprehensively.

"Of course," Rachel replied and sprung from the sofa and rushed over to give the two a helping hand with the boxes.

Puck followed his girlfriend grumbling curse words under his breath directed at Carly and Finn. Sure, his friendship with Finn was gradually getting better again but it had just become non-existent. Since Carly had moved in a week or two ago, his time with only Rachel had decreased. Carly was always with them when they watched a film and half of the time, Finn was over too. Puck realised that Carly didn't really have a choice as when she told her parents she was moving in with Rachel, they told her to never go back.

Fortunately, Finn and Carly were going out tonight and were most likely staying at Finn's that night. With this thought, Puck's mood lifted and he began moving the boxes quicker. His reasoning: the sooner they were done, the sooner Finn and Carly left and the sooner he got Rachel alone. All this proved to be in vain as when, after they finished unpacking Carly's belongings into the spare room, Finn asked the question Puck didn't want to be asked.

"So, have you got any names yet?"

Did Rachel have any names? Hell yes. Since finding out that she was varying a boy and a girl, every other conversation they had revolved around names.

"Maybe Noah and Rachel Junior," she mused the other day. "No that's silly and completely unoriginal," she added as an after thought

So Puck wished Finn hadn't asked that question because now they were lucky to make their dinner reservations.

"No, we haven't started thinking yet," Puck replied before Rachel could answer honestly.

Rachel looked at him with a 'what are you talking about?' look. Puck shook his head at her. She continued to look confused but shook it off.

"Us neither," Finn said, "We're waiting a little longer."

Both Rachel and Carly knew that the other's boyfriend was lying. They had had a fair few late night discussions about names but Rachel agreed with what Puck thought, despite not knowing that was what he was thinking, Carly and Finn would be there all night if the girls started that conversation.

With all this said, Finn and Carly bid goodnight to Rachel and Puck and headed out for their meal before going back to Finn's. This mean that Rachel and Puck could truly be alone but unfortunately for Puck, just as he turned to give Rachel a passionate kiss, Hiram and Leroy walked through the door carrying take out meaning Puck would have to wait a little longer. But when he saw that Hiram had brought him sweet and sour chicken, he knew that his sexy times with Rachel were definitely worth the wait.

However, he was once again put on hold when Rachel's phone started to ring.

"Ignore it, babe," Puck begged but Rachel ignored him instead.

"Hello," she greeted.

"I have something to tell you," Shelby announced.

"What?"

"Will asked me to move in with him!"

"That's awesome! What are you planning on doing?" Rachel asked. She knew her mother wouldn't willingly give up her apartment that she'd worked so hard on.

"He's selling his apartment and moving in with me and Beth," Shelby revealed. "It's better because then he can finally be shut of his ex and my apartment is three bedroomed as you know. It'll be perfect for when your little ones are here too so they will be able to stay with Grandma and Grand-…Will I mean." Shelby cut of saying granddad because she didn't know if Rachel would want Will as the babies' grandfather, only time would tell.

"Like I said, awesome," Rachel said but she started to get distracted as Puck started nibbling on her lobe in attempt to get her attention. "I'm going to have to go though, sorry, Mom."

"Noah's there isn't he?" Shelby asked rhetorically. "Sorry, I'll see you soon. Bye baby, love you."

"Love you, too," Rachel managed to mutter before she hung up and gave Puck the attention he'd been craving all night.

_You guys know what you have to do. Thank you m'lovelys! _


	23. Chapter 23

It was a month until Christmas now but the atmosphere was causing everyone to be in the Christmas spirit, this included Principle Figgins and the top of his Christmas list was to make amends with Coach Sylvester but no one knew of his plans. Therefore, Rachel and Shelby were highly confused and worried when they saw Sue walking towards Shelby's office early the Monday morning.

"I hear you're dating one Will Schuester," Sue stated after she'd walked in. There was no knock; she just walked in in the usual Sylvester manner.

"That would be correct," Shelby replied, "Why do you care?"

"I don't," Sue shrugged, "I just came to question your sanity. He's an idiot."

"Yeah, but I love him," Shelby laughed slightly.

"As much as your comment makes me want to puke, I like that you also think he's an idiot," Sue mused. She then held out her hand and shook Shelby's. "You're not that bad at all."

Sue then turned and walked out of the office and headed back to her own.

"Well that was strange," Rachel muttered after the coach left.

"Tell me about it," Shelby replied.

Rachel and Shelby soon forgot about the Sue situation when the bell rang. Usually, Shelby would hug Rachel and kiss her forehead but as it was Monday morning, Rachel had English and Shelby was her teacher.

"Are you sure we have to do that test?" Rachel groaned as they walked down the hall to Shelby's classroom.

"Yes," Shelby insisted.

"But it's almost Christmas!"

"Says the Jew."

"Yeah, but you're Christian and Daddy's Christian," Rachel replied shrugging as if that was the perfect explanation.

"Tough," Shelby said and stuck her tongue out at her grumbling daughter.

Rachel huffed but didn't argue anymore. She walked in front of her mom and met up with Santana just as she turned into the classroom. Once they were in, Kurt joined them quickly and said, "Early Christmas party at mine this weekend. Say you'll both be there?"

"Sure," they both replied simultaneously.

However, the trio were unable to continue as Shelby called the class to order and the test began. It was a difficult test, too and Rachel wished that she had revised the night before but Puck had been over and she got preoccupied.

_Puck had been working all day but as her fathers were going out for their anniversary meal that evening and were going to be home quiet late and the fact Carly was spending the night at Finn's, Rachel was going to be alone for most of the night. This was an opportunity Rachel couldn't miss so she called Puck straight away and with a bit of persuasion, that wasn't usually needed, he came over._

_The night started out with Rachel lying on her bed with all of her sheets lying around her in different piles according to the topic. She had a large notepad in front of her that she was writing in, taking notes on all the things that the revision sheet had said would been in the test. Puck was sat at the desk pretending to revise for the same test that he would be doing after Rachel, but he was actually staring at Rachel._

_However, about half an hour after she'd started revision, Puck got bored of just staring at her and gently made his way across the room and carefully sat on the bed next to Rachel and leant forward so that they were almost kissing._

"_Noah, I'm trying to work," Rachel groaned trying to push him away._

"_But babe, you look so hot right now," he replied._

_Rachel scoffed at this; she was wearing her sweats with one of his jumpers as hers were too tight on her now she was four months pregnant. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy top knot; there was no way in hell that she looked hot. But because it was Puck, she leant forward and kissed him anyway and soon all of the sheets and books on her bed were on the floor forgotten while she and Puck became far too busy to notice._

After the test, Rachel and Santana started to head to Spanish, while Kurt headed to French, but just as they walked out of the classroom, Puck and Mercedes headed toward it.

"I hate you," Rachel muttered to Puck.

"What did I do?" He asked.

"Last night," she reminded him and he grinned guiltily. "Don't smile, Noah, I've probably failed the test now."

Without waiting for him to reply, she grabbed Santana's hand and dragged her to Mr Schuester's classroom ready for their Spanish lesson. The Latina had no idea what was wrong with her smaller best friend but was going to find out.

Unfortunately, Mr Schuester had them doing a pop quiz for the first half of the lesson and the second half was spend going over vocabulary that they needed for the 'surprise' test he was going to give them on Friday. As Santana was fluent in Spanish, she only wrote the words down so she knew what was coming up. She took Spanish just for documented proof that she could not only speak it fluently, but that she could also do all the grammar that was to it as well. In class, she usually helped Rachel out with the words as the lighter brunette struggled with knowing the genders of the different things.

During this lesson, Santana was hoping to grill Rachel on what was wrong with her but, with the test, the Latina wasn't able to do it. So when the lesson ended, she grabbed Rachel's hand and led her to the locker room where the Cheerios got changed. With it being winter and Coach Sylvester only just being reinstated, the Cheerios hadn't been having practises. Fortunately for them, Sue had managed to postpone their Sectionals until January.

"What are we doing in here, San?" Rachel asked when they finally got there and sat down.

"What's wrong with you and Puck?" Santana questioned gently.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just quite annoyed that he manages to distract me when I'm studying and when I'm not, he barely seems to be paying me any attention," Rachel grumbled in reply.

"Tell him?" Santana suggested.

She was relieved that this was all that was wrong. If there was something worse she didn't know what she would do. She loved Rachel and Puck, they were her best friend. Believe it or not, ignoring Brittany, Puck was the first person she told about being gay. If there was a serious fight between Rachel and Puck, she didn't know what she'd do.

"It's not that simple," Rachel revealed, "I feel like there's something going on that he's not telling me about. I don't want to lose him; I love him so much!"

Rachel stood up when she said this and threw her hands into her hair desperately.

"Remember the babies," Santana cautioned, any sudden movement or large amounts of stress could harm them. "You just need to talk to him. I'll do it if you want me to."

"You wouldn't mind?" Rachel asked quietly. "Or you could ask Mercedes to do it for you; she knows how to phrase things better."

Santana laughed at her best friend. Rachel was right, Mercedes was definitely better when it came to wording things in her favour.

"I'll talk to 'Cedes," Santana promised and then held her hand out for Rachel to take. The Latina then walked Rachel to American history before meeting up with Mercedes in their free period.

oOoOo

Later that day, just before Glee club, Rachel was putting her books into her locker when Jacob Ben-Israel came up behind her.

"It's such a shame you let Puckerman knock you up," he stated, "If you wanted to get pregnant, you could have just asked me. I'd have been happy to do it."

"I didn't want to get pregnant thank you very much," she replied stiffly. "It was an accident but I'm glad it happened, I may have never got Noah."

"Why do you want him when he's cheating on you with McKenna Johansson on the Cheerios?" Jacob questioned.

"He's not cheating on me, you idiot!" She cried more to herself in reassurance than to him before storming off and headed towards the choir room, holding back tears that threatened to fall.

Rachel was the last of the students to arrive but she didn't sit next to Puck as she normally did, despite the free seat next to him. Instead, she chose to sit in between Quinn and Tina. This was odd seeing as Rachel and Tina weren't the best of friends but Quinn seemed happy that Rachel was sitting with her. Their relationship was practically back to normal now after the whole Finn situation.

Santana noticed the whole thing, along with the whole glee club, and looked over to Mercedes. The other girl nodded to her meaning that she'd spoken to Puck about what Rachel was having a problem with. She had no idea what was wrong with her now.

Before she could lean down and whisper in Rachel's ear, Shelby and Mr Schuester walked in meaning the lesson had begun.

"Hello everyone," Shelby greeted.

"Yes, hello. Now I know it's coming close to Christmas but I don't want to do what we've done the last two years and sing about Christmas. Shelby and I have decided that we're going to pick a musical film that you're going to choose a song from to sing. Preferably, it will be in twos, but you can do a solo if you run it past us first," Mr Schuester announced. No one knew that Mr Schuester had his own reasons for picking the musical they'd chosen.

There was a little discussion about what film it would be but they were all put out of their misery of not knowing when Shelby held up the DVD in her hand.

"Mamma Mia?" Mike asked apprehensively. It was common that the boys didn't like singing songs originally sung by girls.

"Yes, and for once, we're not going to pick your partners," Shelby told them and everyone looked happier at this.

It wasn't that they didn't get on, it was just the comfort of being able to perform with someone you wanted not had to be with.

"I've asked Carly and Finn to give us a demo of this week's assignment," Mr Schuester announced and with that, Carly and Finn stood up and got ready to sing.

(**Carly** _Finn_ Both)

"**I was cheated by you  
And I think you know when.  
So I made up my mind, it must come to an end**  
_Look at me now, will I ever learn?  
I don't know how but I suddenly lose control_  
_There's a fire within my soul  
_Just one look and I can hear a bell ring  
One more look and I forget everything  
  
**Mamma Mia, here I go again  
My, my, how can I resist you?  
**_Mamma Mia, does it show again  
My, my, just how much I've missed you?  
_**Yes, I've been broken-hearted  
**_Blue since the day we parted  
_**Why, why did I ever let you go?  
**_Mamma Mia, now I really know  
My, my, I should not have let you go  
_  
**I was angry and sad when I knew we were through  
I can't count all the times I have cried over you  
**  
_Look at me now  
Will I ever learn  
I don't know how  
But I suddenly lose control  
There's a fire within my soul.  
_Just one look and I can hear a bell ring  
One more look and I forget everything  
  
**Mamma Mia, here I go again  
My, my, how can I resist you?  
**_Mamma Mia, does it show again  
My, my, just how much I've missed you?  
_**Yes, I've been broken-hearted  
**_Blue since the day we parted  
_**Why, why did I ever let you go?  
**_Mamma Mia, now I really know  
My, my, I should not have let you go  
_  
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring  
One more look and I forget everything  
  
**Mamma Mia, here I go again  
My, my, how can I resist you?  
**_Mamma Mia, does it show again  
My, my, just how much I've missed you?  
_**Yes, I've been broken-hearted  
**_Blue since the day we parted  
_**Why, why did I ever let you go?  
**_Mamma Mia, now I really know  
_My, my, I should not have let you go"

After their performance, everyone stood and clapped loudly for them, Mike and Sam even whistled.

"That was amazing, guys," Mr Schuester cried and high fived them both.

They both returned to their seats and Sugar raised her hand before saying, "Artie and I have been working on something from Mamma Mia too!"

"Take it away," Shelby said and Arte rolled forwards and Sugar sat on his lap.

(**Sugar** _Artie _Both)

"**If you change your mind  
I'm the first in line  
Honey, I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
If you need me let me know  
Gonna be around  
If you've got no place to go  
When you're feeling down**

_If you're all alone  
When the pretty birds have flown  
Honey, I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best  
And it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test  
If you let me try  
_  
Take a chance on me  
Take a chance on me_  
_  
We can go dancing  
_We can go walking_  
As long as we're together  
Listen to some music  
_Maybe just talking_  
You'd get to know you better

**'Cause you know I've got  
So much that I wanna do  
When I dream I'm alone with you  
It's magic  
You want me to leave it there**  
_Afraid of a love affair_  
**But I think you know  
**That I want you so!  
**  
If you change your mind  
I'm the first in line  
Honey, I'm still free  
Take a chance on me**

If you need me, let me know  
Gonna be around  
If you've got no place to go  
When you're feeling down

If you're all alone  
When the pretty birds have flown  
Honey, I'm still free  
Take a chance on me  
Gonna do my very best  
And it ain't no lie  
If you put me to the test  
If you let me try

**Take a chance on me  
**_Come on, give me a break will you?  
_**Take a chance on me:**

**Oh, you can take your time, baby  
I'm in no hurry  
Know I'm gonna get you  
You don't wanna hurt me**

_Baby, don't worry _  
**I ain't gonna let you  
Let me tell you now  
Our love is strong enough  
To last when things get rough  
It's magic**

You say that I waste my time  
But I can't get you off my mind  
And I think you know  
That I want you so"

Their performance was a little weird as Sugar just sat on Artie's lap while he rolled around a little bit but they were very cute together. Surprisingly, their voices matched quite well too.

Rachel looked down at her feet before sprinting out of the room with Santana hot on her heels. No knew what was wrong with her or why she suddenly ran out but the Latina was going to find out. Rachel knew that Santana was following her and that's what she wanted. She led Santana to Shelby's office so that they could speak privately.

"What the hell is going on now, Rachel?" Santana asked seriously, her hands resting on her hips proving that she meant business.

"Jacob Ben-Israel said Noah's cheating on me," Rachel sobbed, the tears that she'd held back early started to flow down her face.

"Don't be silly, Puck loves you, why would he cheat and who with?"

"Because I'm fat and with McKenna Johansson," Rachel muttered.

Santana thought back over the last couple of days and she actually registered seeing Puck and McKenna together but she didn't think that was odd. They were in Biology together; she presumed they were discussing homework.

"I doubt it, Rachel and you're not fat," Santana attempted to assure the girl, but Rachel could see through her.

"You've seen them together haven't you?" Rachel demanded.

"They're in the same Biology. They were probably talking about homework," Santana shrugged.

"Yeah, like that's going to be true, you know Noah hates homework," Rachel replied, the tears still flowing rapidly.

A few moments later, Shelby arrived at the office and saw her daughter sobbing. She rushed forward and pulled Rachel into her arms and rocked her slightly. Rachel's head was leant against her mom's shoulder, her tears spilling onto the soft fabric of her jumper.

"You can go now, Santana," Shelby muttered, "I've got it from here."

Between the sobs, Rachel managed to tell Shelby what had happened and Santana left the office in search of one Noah Puckerman. She was going to get the answers out of him whether he wanted to give them or not.


	24. Chapter 24

Santana stormed out of Shelby's office heading back to the choir room. She was fuming at the possibility of Puck cheating on her best friend. Yes, she and Rachel didn't used to get on but since Rachel let her and Kurt work on her wardrobe, she realised that the 'dwarf' was a lovely girl. Her attitude towards her had completely changed and she would literally jump in front of a bullet for the girl. So now, the fact that Rachel was hurting was killing her.

However, in her rage, she didn't notice that someone was rushing in the opposite direction to her until they crashed into the other.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!" Santana cried without looking to see who it was. "You!" She gasped when she looked up.

"What have I done?" Puck asked.

"We need to talk," she commanded and led him into a deserted classroom.

"Are you cheating on Rachel?"

"No, I swear," he answered and he was being honest.

_It was last week when McKenna had asked him if he'd done their biology homework as she was apparently struggling on it. With Puck's promise to Shelby, Hiram and Leroy to keep up with his classwork, his answer was yes. He was trying to be a good person so he offered to meet her afterschool one day to help her. He'd been able to get away with it as Carly and Rachel had decided to have a girl's night in with all of the other glee girls._

_The two had met at the Lima Bean and he started pointing out everything that would help her with their homework. The whole thing was innocent until they got to the parking lot once their study date was over. Puck turned to leave but McKenna slipped her hand around his neck and leant up to kiss him on the cheek but he pushed her back. _

"_I'm with Rachel," he reminded her._

"_Then why are you here?" McKenna asked._

"_You asked for my help," Puck said. He realised now that McKenna didn't even need his help, she was just drying to see if she could sleep with him. "That's despicable, McKenna. You'd better hope Rachel doesn't find out or she'll be fuming. With her hormones, you'll be lucky if she doesn't punch you."_

_With this, Puck left her there and drove back home._

"I believe you," Santana murmured. "Why have you been avoiding her?"

"I was scared that she'd find out. I love her so much, I didn't want to hurt her," Puck replied. "I thought I was helping out a friend, but McKenna twisted it."

"I know, but you need to talk to Rachel. Only you can sort this out," Santana said. She then placed her hand on Puck's shoulder reassuringly before she left to find Brittany.

Puck didn't really want to face Rachel right now, but he needed to before it got worse. He quickly raced down to Shelby's office and saw his girl sitting on her mom's lap with red, blotchy eyes.

He said nothing at first, he just stood by the door, not making a sound.

"Come in, Noah," Shelby said quietly.

Rachel looked up at her mom's words and saw Puck at the door.

"Noah," she whispered.

Shelby gently eased Rachel off of her lap and stood up.

"I'll leave you two alone," Shelby stated and glared at Puck before she walked out of the office.

Puck walked further into the office and perched on the edge of the desk as Rachel sat on the seat in front of it. At first, the two said nothing. Puck kept trying to catch eye contact with her but Rachel just stared at her hand.

"It's not true," Puck announced when he couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Isn't it?" Rachel questioned.

"No!" Puck cried. He jumped off of the desk and knelt in front of Rachel and repeated the story he'd told Santana. "I swear, I been getting such good grades since my promise to your parents. I thought I was doing the right thing."

His voice then cracked and for the first time ever, Rachel saw Puck start to cry and it broke her heart.

"I believe you," Rachel finally muttered after a long pause. She then leant down, tilted her head and kissed him. He kissed back immediately.

"Let go home," Puck whispered against her lips and he took her hand in his before leading her to his truck and driving back to his out.

oOoOo

"Where have you been?" Hiram asked as Rachel and Puck stepped over the threshold.

"We've been worried sick," Leroy continued.

"I had no idea what was wrong with you, I'm sorry I didn't follow," Carly said as she rushed down the stairs and hugged Rachel. Usually Puck would drive her home with Rachel, but with them arguing, Finn had to drop her off on his way to the tire shop for his after school shift.

Rachel then looked down at her watch and saw that it was just after 6, she should have been home over an hour ago. Her fathers would have been home for half an hour and she hadn't had time to text them saying she would be late home.

"I'm sorry," she replied and rushed over to hug her fathers and kissed them on their cheeks after hugging Carly back. "There was a little matter but it's perfectly okay now." She looked over to Puck as she said this and frowned slightly with a little blush creeping onto her cheeks in guilt.

"Well we didn't know when you'd be home so we haven't eaten," Hiram said, "So I'll go call for a few of pizzas."

"Daddy, you're brilliant," Rachel gushed and hugged her father again.

The pizzas arrived within half an hour and the three Berrys, Carly and Puck all sat around the kitchen table and tucked in. Rachel had a pineapple, olives, onion and sweet corn pizza. The three men and Carly shared ham and pineapple, meat feast and bbq chicken pizza. It didn't take them all to digest it.

Soon after, Puck had to go home to check up on his mother and sister and get some work done before he went to sleep.

"I'll see you in the morning babe," he murmured to her as she showed him out. He kissed her fully before leaving and waving to her before he jumped into his truck.

Rachel sighed and turned round. Carly motioned to start speaking when Rachel's phone started to buzz. Sighing once more, Rachel answered her phone.

"Hello Mother."

Carly wanted to know what was going on but waited patiently until Rachel came off the phone with Shelby. At this point, they were sat in Rachel's bedroom sitting on her bed.

"What happened?" Carly asked as she finally had Rachel's attention.

With this, Rachel told Carly everything that she'd told Santana earlier and what had happened since glee club. Rachel knew that she'd have to tell Santana, Kurt and probably Quinn all of this again tomorrow but for now she was fine with telling Carly.

Everything with the brunettes was so much different now. They'd finally bonded over both being pregnant and now spent bucket loads of time together with living in the same house. As much as it pained Rachel that Carly's parents had made this happen, she was glad it had otherwise she wouldn't have gained another friend that she considered one of her best friends. But she knew as close as she got with Carly, their friendship would never be as closer as her friendship with Santana was. Despite everything that had happened between her and the Latina, they were the closest of friends now and knew nothing would interfere.

"I feel fat too," Carly admitted after Rachel had finished her monologue.

"At least you're not carrying two," Rachel replied in a joking matter.

"Yeah, but you're not fat!"

"I'm bigger than you!" Rachel stated.

They two went on with this for about half an hour, going between who was the fattest. It was only when Leroy walked past Rachel's bedroom on his way to collect some files when he overheard them that they shut up.

"You're not fat, you're pregnant, so stop arguing!" He stated as he popped his head around the door.

"See!" Both of the girls cried at the other at the same time. Leroy laughed at them, causing them to laugh too before walking down the stairs.

"I'm going to bed," Carly said after they slowly ceased their laughter, "I'm so tired."

"Me too," Rachel sighed, "I'm definitely not going to become a pregnant again for at least ten years."

"Night, Rach," Carly murmured and hugged her friend before walked out of the room and down the short corridor to her own bedroom.

oOoOo

The next morning, Puck arrived at his normal time and honked his horn to announce that he was there to take Rachel and Carly to school.

"See you this afternoon," Hiram said hugging both girls before they ran out of the door.

They both hopped into the car and Puck drove them to school. The journey was pretty quiet only with the odd comment about the song on the radio. But after Carly jumped out and met up with Finn, Puck took hold of Rachel's hand before she could get out of the car.

"Noah?"

"Can we sing a duet in glee?" He asked.

"Of course," she replied and leant forward and kissed him before getting out of the car.

Smiling happily, Puck joined her and took her hand and led her towards the school.

oOoOo

Later that day, after an uneventful day, everyone piled into the glee club ready for more performances.

"Anyone like to go up first?" Shelby asked.

Before Puck could raise his arm, Kurt had already jumped forward.

"Blaine, Joe, Quinn and I have put together a number. We'll be singing Our Last Summer because it's an amazing song," he announced and the four of them stood at the front.

Kurt nodded toward Brad who nodded and his fingers started to glide across the keys.

"Kurt:  
I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
Walks along the Seine  
Laughing in the rain  
Our last summer  
Memories that remain

We made our way along the river  
And we sat down in the grass by the Eiffel tower

Joe:  
I was so happy we had met  
It was the age of no regret  
Oh, yes

Blaine:  
Those crazy years  
That was the time of the flower-power

Joe:  
But underneath  
We had a fear of flying

Blaine:  
Of growing old  
A fear of slowly dying

Joe, Kurt and Blaine:  
We took our chance  
Like we were dancing our last dance

Kurt & Quinn:  
I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
In the tourist jam  
Round the Notre Dame  
Our last summer  
Walking hand in hand

Paris restaurants  
Our last summer  
Morning croissants  
Living for the day  
Worries far away  
Our last summer  
We could laugh and play

Quinn:  
And now you're working in a bank  
A family man, a football fan  
And your name is Harry

Kurt:  
How dull it seems

Quinn:  
Are you the hero of my dreams?

Kurt & Quinn:  
I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
In the tourist jam  
Round the Notre Dame  
Our last summer  
Walking hand in hand

All four:  
I can still recall  
Our last summer  
I still see it all  
Walks along the Seine  
Laughing in the rain  
Our last summer  
Memories that remain"

As usual, after a performance, the rest of the glee club applauded the group and they all bowed at the front, relishing the applause.

When the noise died down, Mr Schuester stepped forward, "Puck, you told me earlier you wanted to sing something?"

"Yeah, I wanted to sing with Rachel. We had a little misunderstanding yesterday but we're okay now," Puck said as he set up his guitar and Mr Schuester helped Rachel with the buffets for her and Puck to sit on during the performance.

Puck started strumming on his guitar and the hum filled the room and when the vocals started, the whole room was mesmerised.

"Puck:  
Where are those happy days?  
They seem so hard to find  
I try to reach for you  
But you have closed your mind

Whatever happened to our love?  
I wish I understood  
It used to be so nice  
It used to be so good

So when you're near me  
Darling can't you hear my?  
S.O.S  
The love you gave me  
Nothing else can save my  
S.O.S

When you're gone  
How can I even try to go on?  
When you're gone  
Though I try, how can I carry on?

Rachel:  
You seem so far away  
Though you are standing near  
You made me feel alive

But something died I fear  
I really tried to make it out  
I wish I understood  
What happened to our love  
It used to be so good

Rachel & Puck:  
So when you're near me  
Darling can't you hear my  
S.O.S  
The love you gave me  
Nothing else can save my  
S.O.S

When you're gone  
How can even I try to go on?  
When you're gone  
Though I try, how can I carry on?

So when you're near me  
Darling can't you hear my  
S.O.S  
And the love you gave me  
Nothing else can save my  
S.O.S

When you're gone  
How can I even try to go on?  
When you're gone (when you're gone)  
Though I try, how can I carry on?

When you're gone  
How can I even try to go on?  
When you're gone  
though I try, how can I carry on?"

The group clapped and cheered, Sam whistling as usual when Rachel and Puck performed. Puck and Rachel kissed sweetly before sitting back down in their seats.

"Does anyone else have a song they'd like to sing from Mamma Mia?" Mr Schuester asked.

Sam looked over to his girlfriend hopefully and Mercedes nodded in reply before looking up.

"Sam and I have been preparing something," she said to Mr Schuester.

"Perfect," Shelby replied and smiled.

"Sam:  
I wasn't jealous before we met  
Now every man that I see is a potential threat  
And I'm possessive, it isn't nice  
You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice  
But now it isn't true  
Now everything is new  
And all I've learned  
Has overturned  
I beg of you

Mercedes:  
Don't go wasting your emotion  
Lay all your love on me

It was like shooting a sitting duck  
A little small talk, a smile and baby I was stuck  
I still don't know what you've done with me  
A grown-up woman should never fall so easily  
I feel a kind of fear  
When I don't have you near  
Unsatisfied  
I skip my pride  
I beg you dear

Sam:  
Don't go wasting your emotion  
Lay all your love on me  
Don't go sharing your devotion  
Lay all your love on me

Mercedes:  
I've had a few little love affairs  
They didn't last very long and they've been pretty scarce

Sam:  
I used to think that was sensible  
It makes the truth even more incomprehensible

Mercedes:  
'Cause everything is new  
And everything is you  
And all I've learned  
Has overturned  
What can I do?

Together:  
Don't go wasting your emotion  
Lay all your love on me  
Don't go sharing your devotion  
Lay all your love on me  
Don't go wasting your emotion  
Lay all your love on me  
Don't go sharing your devotion  
Lay all your love on me"

The two ended their performance starting lovingly into the other's eyes and leant forward and kissed sweetly before looking round and accepting the applause the crowd gave.

"That was beautiful," Shelby commented as the couple sat back down.

"We're so very proud," Mr Schuester added.

"Completely," Shelby said smiling brightly.

After a short speech about the final performances the next day, Mr Schuester let everyone go.

"Rachel, could I have a small word tomorrow morning?" Mr Schuester whispered to her after catching her arm before she left.

"Umm, sure," Rachel replied and shrugged. She had a faint idea to what Mr Schuester was going to talk to her about but she didn't want to jinx it for her mom's sake.

_You guys are amazing and your reviews make me happy. I'm not having Will propose to Shelby the same way that he proposed to Emma in the show. I have come up with my own idea for it. This will be a rarity that I've uploaded two chapters after each other but I wrote a fair bit this weekend so I can upload two so close. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the more reviews, the higher the chance the I'll update tomorrow with that long awaited proposal. Thanks again, Emss x._


	25. Chapter 25

The next morning, Rachel and Carly bid the former's fathers goodbye with a kiss on their cheeks and rushed out, as fast as two pregnant women could, and joined Puck in his truck. Rachel kissed him in greeting before settling back in her seat and letting him drive her to school.

Once they were there, Rachel kissed Puck goodbye as he went to football practise and she went to Mr Schuester's office to talk. Carly walked part way with Rachel until the choir room where they parted ways.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Rachel asked after she entered the office and she sat down in the chair Mr Schuester pointed to.

"I love your mom, you know that right?" Mr Schuester started. Rachel nodded in reply and smiled, happy that this was what he wanted to discuss. "I want to marry her," he admitted.

Rachel's smile increased. "Oh my gosh, you have to ask her!"

"You don't mind?" Mr Schuester asked, doubt clear in his face.

"No, of course not! She loves you and I know you're going to be an amazing husband for her, Mr Schue!"

"Thank you, Rach," Mr Schuester replied smiling gratefully. "However, seeing as I'll become your stepfather," his grin growing proud at this, "It's probably best if you call me Will when it's us."

"Okay, Will," Rachel said laughing slightly as she started getting up out of her chair.

"Oh just before you leave, could you distract your mom just before glee starts so I can get the choir room set up and fill in the others?" Will asked. "I'll tell Noah to text you when we're ready."

"Of course," Rachel replied. "That will be fine."

She then stood and hugged him before walking out of the room with a slight spring in her step. She got many funny looks, she was used to that, but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. No matter how many questions she got from Santana, Puck and Quinn, well everyone really, she didn't reveal why she was in a good mood.

When she went to her English lesson that afternoon, she smiled at her mother knowingly. Shelby gave her a questioning look in return but Rachel just shook her head and sat between Santana and Kurt as always.

The lesson passed quickly but Shelby kept looking over to her daughter and her friends. Rachel's smile never left her face despite the lesson being a little boring. Yes, Shelby knew when her lessons were boring or not but looking at poetry from the 19th century was compulsory whether she liked teaching it or not. At the end of the lesson, she called Rachel back to stay.

"What's up, Mom?" Rachel asked giddily.

"What's up with you? You haven't stopped smiling all lesson!" Shelby questioned lightly.

Rachel laughed. Was she really that moody usually that everyone continuously asked her what was the matter with her smile?

"Nothing," Rachel replied quickly, "I'm just in an extremely good mood. I have to go though, so I'll see you in glee!"

She leant forward and hugged her mom tightly before exiting the room, her smile still etched onto her face.

oOoOo

Rachel's last lesson that day was Chemistry with Santana and instead of walking to glee like she usually did with her best friend, Rachel said that she needed to grab something from her locker first and would meet her in glee. Santana was confused, this never happened but she hugged Rachel before heading off to meet Brittany to walk into glee together.

Pausing to think for a moment, Rachel had to decide where her mom would be. Then it hit her. Puck and Mercedes had English last today so Shelby would be heading from her classroom to the choir room. Rachel then walked down the corridor and waited by the fountain that Shelby would pass. Glancing at her watch to check the time, Rachel knew her mother would be there anytime soon and she was proved correct. The familiar clicking of Shelby's high heels was heard and she looked up and smiled brightly.

"Rach, why aren't you in glee?" Shelby asked as she walked closer to her daughter.

"I was waiting for you!" Rachel replied sweetly and held her hand out for her mother to take.

Confusing was obvious on Shelby's beautiful features but happiness and comfort was also there with the fact that Rachel was holding her hand. They started walking to the choir room but Rachel made sure that their walk was slow until she got the text from Puck which arrived just a few corners away from the choir room.

After she'd read the message, Rachel started walking faster literally pulling her mother along behind her in excitement.

"Jesus Rachel, one minute you're going snail pace and now a cheetah!" Shelby cried. "What's going on?!"

"I don't actually know," Rachel replied still smiling.

They then reached the choir room and it looked pretty much similar to normal except Mr Schuester was wearing an extremely smart suite. Rachel rushed over and sat in between Santana and Puck, the latter holding his hand out for her to take and Shelby stepped forward until she was standing before Will.

"Will?" Shelby asked cautiously.

Mr Schuester said nothing but knelt down on one knee in front of Shelby, clicking towards the band that started playing immediately. The New Directions sang in the background creating more texture and a sweeter sound to the song. It wasn't as fast as the original; Will had changed it to more of a ballad instead of a pop song in attempt to lessen the corniness.

"Love me or leave me, make your choice but believe me  
I love you  
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do  
I can't conceal it, don't you see, can't you feel it?  
Don't you too?  
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

Shelby, please say it, you love me and you know it  
I love you  
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do  
I can't conceal it, I love you and can't you feel it?  
Say I do?  
I do, I do, I do, I do, I do"

It was still rather corny but romantic in the same way. When the short performance was over, Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box containing a diamond ring before beginning his speech.

"I know we haven't been together for that long but I've never been happier than I am when I'm with you," he began. He paused and swallowed and glanced at Quinn quickly before continuing, "I want you, Beth and Rachel to be my proper family and someday soon that will include Noah and the babies. I love you so much, Shelby, and I would be honoured if you would accept my proposal and become my wife."

Shelby hadn't been able to anything but stare in awe since she entered the room. Her brain finally fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together over the assignment, Will asking Rachel to meet him the next day and the reason why Rachel had been smiling all day.

"I don't recall hearing a question," she murmured when she was finally able to say something.

"Shelby Elizabeth Corcoran," Will said as he took her right hand in his and holding the box containing the ring in his other hand, "Will you do me the greatest honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes!" Shelby all but screamed.

Will took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger before standing up and pulling her into a passionate kiss while all the New Directions clapped. Rachel then rushed forward and joined the hug with Puck soon following her. Before they all knew it, the whole club were hugging with Will and Shelby in the middle staring each other in the eye.

The congratulations died down but the smiles never left any of their faces and Will didn't seem to want to let go of Shelby's left hand with the ring glittering on her finger.

"I had planned to sing a song today myself actually," Shelby admitted.

"You can still sing it if you like," Will replied.

Shelby managed to release her hand from Will's grasp but kissed him to cease his pouting.

"As much as I am extremely happy at being engage to you, Will, this song is actually for my daughter," Shelby announced.

Mr Schuester laughed slightly, "It's perfectly okay."

Shelby looked over to the band and nodded in confirmation to the song. She had spoken to the guitarist in her earlier English lesson with him.

"So yeah, Rach, this is for you," Shelby muttered before singing.

"Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning  
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile  
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness  
And I have to sit down for a while  
The feeling that I'm losing her forever  
And without really entering her world  
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter  
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time  
I try to capture every minute  
The feeling in it  
Slipping through my fingers all the time  
Do I really see what's in her mind  
Each time I think I'm close to knowing  
She keeps on growing  
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table  
Barely awake, I let precious time go by  
Then when she's gone there's that odd melancholy feeling  
And a sense of guilt I can't deny  
What happened to the wonderful adventures  
The places I had planned for us to go  
(slipping through my fingers all the time)  
Well, some of that we did but most we didn't  
And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time  
I try to capture every minute  
The feeling in it  
Slipping through my fingers all the time  
Do I really see what's in her mind  
Each time I think I'm close to knowing  
She keeps on growing  
Slipping through my fingers all the time"  
True to the film, Rachel stepped forward at this moment and took her mother's hand and started singing with her.

"Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture  
And save it from the funny tricks of time  
Slipping through my fingers..."

When it was over, Rachel didn't move. She continued to hold her mother's hand and Shelby finished the song looking straight at Rachel with a smile gracing her face.

"Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning  
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile..."

The choir room erupted in applause and everyone gave them a standing ovation. Rachel pulled slightly on her mother's hand pulling her in for a tight hug.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel whispered into Shelby's ear.

"I love you, too, my sweet darling daughter," Shelby replied just as quietly and kissed Rachel on the temple before pulling back.

Mr Schuester decided to leave the rehearsal there as he really wanted to go home and spend more time with his soon to be wife and soon to be step daughter.

With Carly going with Finn to his house, Rachel and Puck had the house to themselves for a couple of hours until Hiram and Leroy returned home. Puck started to take advantage of this but Rachel quickly put her foot down.

"I want to talk about something serious," she murmured. Puck groaned but pulled back from kissing her neck and took her hand, leading her to the sofa where she sat on his lap and they wrapped their arms around the other.

"What's up, baby?" He asked.

"Do you think our children should call Mr Schuester a form of grandfather?"

This question caught Puck off guard. Never did he think this would be something to consider with her but it had crossed his mind but he had shrugged it off as when the thought passed through his head, Shelby and Will were only dating. It was different now that they were going to be getting married.

"I think it's fair," Puck replied honestly. He then leant forward to kiss Rachel on her nose. She giggled before her serious face came back.

"I just don't want it to be confusing for them."

"Why would it be?" He asked. "My dad's not gonna be around so I'm sure your dads will be Granddad and Grandpa. Mr Schue can be Gramps of something. You said that you call Shelby's dad that."

Rachel considered this and realised that Puck was right. It was one of the few moments that he actually was. Just as she was about to reply, her phone started to ring and saw that it was her mom.

"Mom?" She said after answering her phone.

"Hey sweetie," Shelby greeted on the other end. "My mom's just rang me saying that she wants us to visit again this weekend. She wants Will and Noah there too. Is that okay?"

"Oh, we were just talking about Gran and Gramps," Rachel mused. "Let me just ask Noah."

She took the phone away from her ear and repeated what her mother had said to Puck. He paled slightly in anticipation but then nodded reluctantly. Rachel had said that he'd get on with her family rather well; it was just going to be the initial meeting that would freak him out slightly.

"Yeah, he's fine with it," Rachel said after she replaced the phone back to her ear. "Is that all you wanted?"

"No actually. Will and I want to invite you both out for a meal on Friday before we go to Columbus on Saturday. Quinn has said she'll look after Beth for us," Shelby revealed.

"That's great. We'll be there," Rachel replied not bothering to tell Puck what was going on; she'd tell him in a bit.

"Okay, I need to get back to my FIANCÉ! Sorry, I had to," Shelby added when she heard Rachel giggle slightly. "Love you, Rachel."

"Love you, too, Mom. See you tomorrow."

Rachel then hung up the phone call and chucked her phone lightly onto the chair in front of the sofa she was sitting on. She then leant back and Puck started to kiss her ear, biting the lobe slightly. Her lips parted slightly as she enjoyed his attention.

"Who's the 'we' in 'we'll be there'," he murmured into her ear.

"My m-mom asked u-us to go out f-for a m-m-meal with her and m-Mr Schuester Friday n-night," she stammered wishing Pucks mouth would return to her ear.

"Sounds perfect," he replied and kissed her fully until the sound of the front door opening was heard and the pulled back.

Leroy and Hiram walked through the front door carrying grocery bags. The teens rushed off the sofa to help with putting them away. Carly returned home not soon after and helped putting the last few things away. They then stayed in the kitchen and watched Leroy cook their dinner and ate together as they usually did.

When it got late, Puck bid everyone goodbye and kissed Rachel sweetly before going home and spending the rest of the evening with him mom and sister. Rachel bid her dads and Carly goodnight and started going through her usual nightly rituals. However, she had to pause them as her phone started to ring. Sighing slightly, she wiped her hands on her towel to remove the moisturiser and picked up her phone. She had presumed it was Puck saying that he missed her, which is what he did most nights, but it wasn't.

"Hello, Mia!" She greeted enthusiastically. It had been around a week since she'd last spoken to any of her mother's family and she'd missed her conversations with Amelia the most. She tried to ring her grandmother often but her busy schedule with school, homework, glee and Puck prevented her from talking to her family.

"Hey, Rach. A little birdy had just told me that you, your boyfriend, your mom and her FIANCÉ are coming over this weekend," Amelia replied.

"Yes, that's true," Rachel said happily. "I'm so excited for you to meet Noah but please tell Gramps to be kind."

From the phone calls Rachel had had with her granddad Jack, she figured that he would want to have a sit down with Puck and discuss his future plans and his commitments. It would be a similar conversation Puck had with Leroy and Hiram. Rachel was blessed that her grandfather would do this because he cared, but she didn't really want it to happen. She didn't want a reason for Puck to leave her.

"I shall do but you've come to realise what your grandfather is like," Mia sighed.

The two started discussing what Rachel had been up to since they last talk and Rachel revealed about the doubt about Puck and Shelby's great news. In return, Mia told Rachel about what she had been occupied with. There wasn't much but Rachel liked to hear about it.

About half an hour later, Rachel realised that it was getting late and she still had to finish her ritual before she could go to sleep.

"I'm afraid I have to go, Mia," she murmured.

"I'm sorry I rang so late, I presumed Noah would have been over," Mia replied.

"Yeah, he left about an hour ago, but I need my beauty sleep."

"And do your time consuming nightly routine," Amelia presumed.

"How did you-"

"You're talking to the woman who grew up with your mom," Amelia reminded Rachel, "Night sweetie."

"Night, Mia," Rachel said and hung up her phone for the second time that night.

She quickly finished her routine and flipped her light switch off before climbing into bed, counting down the few days to going back to Columbus.


	26. Chapter 26

The next morning, Rachel woke up feeling extremely refreshed and, if she wasn't pregnant with twins, she would have jumped out of bed and skipped to her bathroom to commence her morning routine. Instead, she gently slid out of bed and hummed as she walked steadily to the bathroom. She brushed out her hair and jumped into the shower, letting the hot water drench her skin.

Like most people, the shower was where she did most of her thinking. This morning's thoughts evolved around one of her many conversations with Puck last night. It was the question of what the babies would call Will. At first she hadn't thought it would have been a problem. Sure, she knew that her mom and Will loved each other but she didn't know that they would get married, even though that was what she was hoping for. Now that this was happening, however, she had to think about other things. Beth would grow up calling Will 'Dad' and it would confuse her if her mom and dad weren't Rachel's babies grandparents. Of course she would know about Quinn and Puck when she was older but she wouldn't know at first. There was also the fact that with Rachel's fathers, the baby would already have two granddads. But the more Rachel thought about it, the more she wanted the babies to be Will's grandchildren too.

Will Schuester had been there for her when no one else was. He'd helped her with her confidence in her sophomore year and he'd taught her the true meaning of friendship and teamwork. She wanted her children to know this lesson and though she could teach them it herself, she would prefer the same man to teach them like he taught her.

When she finally turned the shower off and stepped out, she decided that tomorrow night at the family meal, she would ask him which he would like to be called. However, before then, she needed to know what her dads wanted.

She quickly dried off and blow dried and curled her hair before applying her makeup. She then walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her favourite pair of light washed skinny jeans and a grey and white woolly jumper. She finished her outfit with Puck's leather jacket that he'd given her months ago and a pair of sturdy boots that would not only keep her warm, but make sure she didn't fall on the ice that lingered on the sidewalks.

As she arrived downstairs, she saw that her fathers and Carly were in the kitchen. Hiram was stood by the stove cooking pancakes again and Carly and Leroy were sat at the breakfast bar already tucking into some that had already been cooked.

"Good morning, Princess," Hiram greeted when he saw Rachel walk in.

He stepped away from the stove and hugged her, kissing her forehead when she leant back.

"Morning, everyone," she said generally.

She then sat in between Leroy and Carly at the breakfast bar and started to pour sugar and lemon onto her pancake and topped it off with whipped cream before starting to eat it. Hiram soon joined them at the breakfast bar with his own pile of pancakes and the Berrys and Carly ate their breakfast.

"I have a question," Rachel announced a few moments later as she poured syrup onto her second pancake.

"And what is that, my love?" Leroy asked.

"When the babies are born, what do you want to be called?"

"Well seeing as I'm dad, I'd like to be called Granddad," Leroy replied. "It seems most appropriate."

"But if we went with that, I'd be called Granddaddy and that sounds ridiculous," Hiram groaned.

"What about Grandpa?" Carly suggested. "That's what I used to call my mom's dad."

"Grandpa Hiram?" Hiram mused, "I like the sound of that."

"Then it's settled," Rachel replied.

They paused the conversation as they all either took another bite of a pancake or had a slurp of their tea or milkshake.

"Why did you ask?" Hiram pondered.

Rachel then explained about her dilemma in the shower this morning but as soon as she'd said it, she wished she hadn't. She hadn't thought that her fathers would take it badly that she wanted to include Shelby's soon to be husband.

"He's going to help guide them, though," Carly added. The three Berrys looked at her. Rachel smiled in thanks and the older Berrys shared looks of confusion. "I mean, I want my son to call you both Granddad and Grandpa."

"That's lovely," Leroy said fondly. He then paused and realised what they girls were saying. He and Leroy weren't Carly's parents therefore, they aren't Carly's son's grandparents but if it was her wish that they were to be called that, then she would get her wish. This was the same for Rachel. Shelby was Rachel's mother now, even though technically she always had been, so it was only fair that she and her soon to be husband were also to be grandparents to the twins. This is what he said to Rachel and Hiram pondered if for a moment and then agreed with his husband.

"Yes, Leroy, you are correct," Hiram said.

Just as Leroy was to reply, a honk from a car was heard and Rachel quickly walked to the window and saw Puck sitting in his truck looking towards the door. He then saw her in the window and waved before blowing a kissed towards her. Rachel pretended to catch it before waving back and returning into the kitchen.

"Noah's here," she murmured.

Leroy and Hiram kissed both girls on their foreheads and picked up their bags for them to put on their shoulder before they rushed out to the trunk on their driveway.

Rachel jumped into the front seat as Carly got into the back. Puck leant over and kissed Rachel in greeting before saying, "hey girls."

"Hey baby," Rachel replied smiling.

"Hey Puck," Carly said from the back.

Puck then set off and the three discussed the matter that had been on Rachel's mind the last day. Puck agreed with Leroy and Hiram and was glad that everyone was in agreement. He echoed Rachel's excitement about telling Will about it when they went out for their dinner the following day.

Due to heavy traffic, when the three arrived at school, there was barely anytime until the bell was due to ring. Carly quickly went to the choir room to meet Finn and walk to Health Class with him and Rachel and Puck went in the opposite direction to American history, the only class that they shared together. It was the most boring lesson but the fact that the other was there always passed the time better.

oOoOo

That afternoon when the New Directions met in the choir room as usual for glee, they all had smiles gracing their faces. There had been no drama during the day, it was two weeks until Christmas break and they were happy that Mr Schuester had finally found the right woman for him. Of course Rachel was delighted that it was her mom he was marrying. The only thing that made it slightly awkward for her was the fact that she once crushed heavily on Mr Schuester, something that Santana and Puck liked to tease her about. Rachel just hoped that her mom would never find out about that.

Once everyone was settled in their usual seats, Mr Schuester called everyone to order.

"So who's next with this week's assignment?" He asked.

Everyone shuffled slightly in their chairs and avoided making eye contact with him.

"No one?"

"We're sorry, Mr Schue," Santana announced on everyone's behalf, "but us who haven't performed yet won't be able to live up to yesterday's performances."

"Yeah," Tina added, "your proposal and Ms C's song to Rachel are things that even we can't compete with."

"Then I'll have to perform something then," Rachel decided. When everyone looked at her in confusion, or in Mercedes and Kurt's cases insanity, she added, "think of it as family competition."

Everyone laughed slightly as Rachel stepped forward to stand before everyone. Shelby smiled proudly at her daughter for multiple reasons: the fact she was brave, in admiration for having many songs already prepared but mainly, it was because she'd openly stated that Will was part of her family already.

"I would dedicate this to someone but it wouldn't put across the right message," Rachel began. "Instead I'm going to say that I hope you enjoy my performance."

With this said, Will dimmed the lights and nodded to Brad on the piano. The intro began and Rachel sang her heart out with one of her favourite songs.

"I don't wanna talk  
About the things we've gone through  
Though it's hurting me  
Now it's history  
I've played all my cards  
And that's what you've done too  
Nothing more to say  
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all  
The loser's standing small  
Beside the victory  
That's a destiny

I was in your arms  
Thinking I belonged there  
I figured it made sense  
Building me a fence  
Building me a home  
Thinking I'd be strong there  
But I was a fool  
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice  
Their minds as cold as ice  
And someone way down here  
Loses someone dear  
The winner takes it all  
The loser has to fall  
It's simple and it's plain  
Why should I complain.

But tell me does she kiss  
Like I used to kiss you?  
Does it feel the same  
When she calls your name?  
Somewhere deep inside  
You must know I miss you  
But what can I say  
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide  
The likes of me abide  
Spectators of the show  
Always stay in love  
The game is on again  
A lover or a friend  
A big thing or a small  
The winner takes it all

I don't wanna talk  
If it makes you feel sad  
And I understand  
You've come to shake my hand  
I apologize  
If it makes you feel bad  
Seeing me so tense  
No self-confidence  
But you see  
The winner takes it all  
The winner takes it all"

When the last chord finished, Will turned the lights back on to reveal a fair few people either blinking back tears, hiding their faces or, in Kurt's case, openly crying. Puck then leapt forward out of his chair and wrapped his arms around Rachel sweetly and kissed her temple.

"That was so beautiful, baby," he whispered into her ear.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

Looking over Pucks' shoulder, Rachel noticed that Shelby was also openly crying like Kurt was.

"Was I really that bad?" She asked jokily pulling away from Puck's embrace.

"On the contrary," Quinn answered, "that was so completely beautiful."

"Thank you," Rachel replied, suddenly blushing at the reaction she'd received.

She then took hold of Puck's hand and led them back to their chairs. Rachel was sat next to Santana as usual with Puck sitting on the end next to the drums. Mercedes and Sam were sat behind them with Joe and Quinn to Sam's left.

Will and Shelby stood in the corner decided what they should do, should they let everyone go or should they think of something for everyone to do for the next half an hour of the session.

When neither thought of anything, Shelby stepped forward and announced, "Does anyone want to sing something that isn't from Mamma Mia because we're realised that that assignment is over now."

"A few of us guys have put together a song," Puck announced.

"That's great," Mr Schuester replied, "Come on up."

Puck let go of Rachel's hand and he, along with Finn, Sam and Blaine stepped forward. Finn went to sit behind the drum kit, Sam and Puck picked up their guitars and Blaine sat behind the piano.

"We'd like to dedicate this to our girlfriends," Sam said.

"And my wonderful boyfriend," Blaine added winking at Kurt.

Blaine then played the introduction on the piano and Sam and Puck joined in on their guitar with Finn playing a soft beat in the background.

"Puck: So lately, been wondering  
Who will be there to take my place  
Finn: When I'm gone you'll need love  
To light the shadows on your face

Sam: If a greater wave shall fall  
And fall upon us all  
Blaine: Then between the sand and stone  
Could you make it on your own?

All: If I could, then I would  
I'll go wherever you will go  
Way up high or down low  
I'll go wherever you will go

Puck: And maybe, I'll find out  
A way to make it back someday  
Finn: To watch you, to guide you  
Through the darkest of your days

Sam: If a great wave shall fall  
And fall upon us all  
Blaine: Well then I hope there's someone out there  
Who can bring me back to you

All: If I could, then I would  
I'll go wherever you will go  
Way up high or down low  
I'll go wherever you will go

Puck with Finn: Run away with my heart  
Blaine with Sam: Run away with my hope  
Puck with Finn: Run away with my love

Puck: I know now, just quite how  
My life and love might still go on  
In your heart, in your mind  
I'll stay with you for all of time

All: If I could, then I would  
I'll go wherever you will go  
Way, way up high or down low  
I'll go wherever you will go

Blaine: If I could turn back time  
Others: I'll go wherever you will go  
Sam: If I could make you mine  
Others: I'll go wherever you will go  
All: I'll go wherever you will go"

As if on cue, when the song ended, Mercedes, Rachel, Carly and Kurt all rushed up and pulled their boyfriends into their arms kissing them sweetly.

"That was amazing guys!" Shelby said honestly, patting Puck on the shoulder. "You almost made me cry again!"

"We don't want that, Ms C!" Sam replied slipping his hand into Mercedes.

"I can see you all want to leave," Mr Schuester said. "Go ahead, we'll see you tomorrow."

Everyone bid each other goodbye and Rachel hugged her mom before taking Puck's hand and walking with to the parking lot. Kurt was going to be taking Carly and Rachel home as Finn and Puck were going to the tire shop for a shift. Mercedes was also going to the Berry house hold and Santana, Tina, Sugar, Brittany and Quinn were following in the car behind. The group where having a girl's night in, with Kurt being an honorary girl. They were going to watch a few movies and gossip like the good old days before studying and pregnancy ruined things.

They night was amazing and everyone loved it. Rachel loved spending her time with Santana and Quinn, not to mention Brittany too, and realised that she needed to make more time for her best friends. The same went for Tina, Mercedes and Kurt. She then promised to herself that when Christmas came she was going to throw another party and invite all of the boys too. All she had to do was convince her dads to do it. She needed to practice her puppy dog eyes.

_So guys, what did you think to the proposal in the last chapter, I didn't get many reviews so I don't know if you all liked it or not. I'm worried that it didn't go the way you wanted it to go. I know updates have been a little here and there but as I've said, I have lost of work and I'm on a little break from college now so I've been writing a little more than usual. Please let me know if you don't like this and I'll alter it, but if you do like it, please tell me that too so I know to keep writing in this style with the ideas. _

_Live I've always said, if you want something to happen or a song to be sung, just leave it in a review or a PM and I'll get to it straight away._

_Thanks again, everyone, you guys are amazing and your reviews mean soooooo much! Emss x_


	27. Chapter 27

Before Rachel knew it, it was Friday afternoon and it was time to get ready for the meal she was having with her mom, Will and Puck that night. Puck had dropped her and Carly off about half an hour ago and the girls had gone upstairs immediately to start planning Rachel's hair and makeup that Carly was going to help her with and Puck would be picking her up in an hour to take them to the restaurant in central Lima where they were meeting Shelby and Will.

Also during that hour, Rachel had to pack for her weekend away at her grandparents in Columbus. She was so excited to be seeing them again, but she was apprehensive and she desperately wanted Puck to get along with them and vice versa. She loved her family and she loved Puck, she didn't want to have to pick one over the other. But as she thought about this, she realised that she was being silly, her aunts and grandparents were easy going and would love Puck just like she did.

For the meal, Rachel dressed in a loose fitting pale blue dress that partially hid her pregnant belly. Her hair was curled to perfection and her smoky makeup made her look at least 25. She didn't mind that she would be a teenage mother, actually she was rather looking forward to it, but she didn't want people giving her family funny looks. Yes, she thought of Shelby, Will, Beth and Puck as her family. Obviously her fathers were her family, they always had been and technically Shelby had always been too. Now she even considered Carly as part of her family and Santana, Quinn and Kurt had always been her family, she just hadn't realised it at first.

Puck arrived at her doorstep at 6pm sharp, dressed in a grey suit with black lining and a crisp white shirt. His tie matched the blue of Rachel's dress too. Rachel was surprised by this but Puck revealed later that Carly had texted him with the colour.

A few rounds of pictures taken by Leroy and Hiram later, Rachel was lifted into Puck's truck by the man himself and he started the ignition before setting off to the restaurant Mr Schuester had booked.

"May I say you look absolutely beautiful?" Puck stated as he helped Rachel out of the truck before taking her arm like a proper gentleman and leading her into the restaurant.

"Why thank you, Noah," Rachel replied blushing at his compliment, "You don't look too bad yourself."

Puck then leant down and kissed her forehead. A man wearing a delicate black suit greeted them at the door.

"Name?" He asked with a heavy Italian accent.

"Schuester, I think," Puck replied.

The Italian man looked down at his list before nodding. "Mr and Mrs Schuester have already arrived. Follow me," he requested.

Rachel shook her head and laughed slightly, Puck knew what her laughter was at. It was the fact that Shelby had only been engaged to Will for 2 days and she was already calling herself Shelby Schuester. They were still chuckling slightly when they arrived at the table. Will and Shelby looked up from the menu they were looking at and looked at the two teens questioningly.

"What are you laughing at?" Shelby asked.

"Apparently 'Mr and Mrs Schuester' are already here," Rachel replied as Puck pulled out her chair like a gentleman.

Shelby blushed at Rachel's comment and leant slightly into Will's shoulder in embarrassment. Will just wrapped his arm protectively around her and kissed her on her forehead sweetly.

"He just said, 'this way Mr and Mrs Schuester'," Shelby revealed as she absentmindedly twisted her engagement ring around her finger. "I liked the way it sounded so I didn't correct him."

A server then came over and took their order of drinks before going off to make them.

"I don't know what to order," Puck said as he skimmed the vast menu.

"That's not like you, Noah," Rachel joked but she too was having trouble decided on which of the vegan dishes she could choose. Usually there would be only one choice for her when she went to Breadstix but here, there was a large selection of different vegan and vegetarian meals.

The drinks arrived a few more moments later.

"Two cokes?" The waiter asked and Will and Puck nodded. "Red wine?" Shelby nodded to this. "And a Lemonade for you, Madam," he said placing the glass in front of Rachel. "Your server will be here in five minutes to take your order. We hope you have a pleasant night."

He walked away leaving the four of them to decide what they were going to eat. Fortunately, by the time the server arrived, they had made their minds up.

"I'll have the vegan pizza with all the vegetable toppings," Rachel requested.

"I'll have the spaghetti carbonara," Shelby said.

"The Hawaiian pizza for me," Puck asked, "with extra black olives and mushrooms."

"Pesto linguini, please," Will stated.

The server nodded after writing all of the requests down. He read them out to make sure he'd heard correctly before walking over to the kitchen to inform the chefs about their choice.

"I was talking with Noah and my dads earlier about what they wanted the twins to call them. I realised that I need to ask you both the same question," Rachel said.

"My mom's already got dibs on Grandma," Puck added and laughed. "She doesn't want to be Nan or Gran because she wants it to be how it was for her or something."

"I would be honoured if the twins called me 'Gran'," Shelby replied and smiled.

"Are you sure?" Will asked. "they've already got two grandfathers, do you really want me to be included?"

Rachel and Puck shared a glance before nodding. "I'd like nothing better. You're going to be in their lives, Will, and you'll be married to their Gran. It makes sense for you to have your own name."

"Yeah, Rachel's right. Hiram and Leroy have already decided on Grandpa Hiram and Granddad Leroy. My dad isn't going to be there, thank God for that," Puck added.

"I called my grandfather Papa when I was younger," Will admitted, "My father always said he was looking forward to the day he would be called Papa. It only makes sense that I should take that name too."

"Then Papa it is."

Shelby looked uncomfortable when Will was saying that. She'd told him previously that she couldn't have any more children. She'd admitted that to him when she'd attempted to reconnect with Rachel the first time. She didn't realise that it would become important for them. There was nothing that she wanted more than to carry Will's baby but she couldn't.

Rachel didn't understand what Shelby was thinking about but could see her discomfort so she decided to change the subject. "How's Beth?" She asked.

"She's great," Shelby replied quickly relieved that the subject had been changed. "She's already wrapped Will around her little finger. With one little word, he's putty in her hands."

"So she's okay with Mr Schue moving in?" Puck questioned somewhat lightly.

This was a still a touchy subject with Puck. Even though he no longer thinks of Beth as his daughter, he still didn't know if he was comfortable with Will already acting like her father. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Beth was still his little girl but he knew that once Rachel gave birth to the twins his feelings would change. He would never stop loving Beth but he would have a daughter to call his own.

Rachel could sense what Puck was thinking about and placed her hand on his thigh and squeezed it reassuringly. Puck glanced at her and smiled slightly before looking back at Shelby for the answer.

"Yeah, she's comfortable with him. She doesn't call him 'Dad' yet," Shelby paused at this as she realised what she was saying. "If that's what you want…"

"It's not my choice, I'm not her father anymore," Puck muttered. "She needs a dad in her life though, and who better than you, Mr Schuester."

"Call me 'Will' when we're with family, Noah. It makes more sense," Will murmured before continuing, "but thank you. I admit, I do see her as my daughter already, but that's because she's the daughter of my fiancée."

"How does Quinn feel about this?" Rachel asked.

She knew Quinn was looking after Beth tonight with the help of Joe. She'd called Rachel before setting off as her nerves were making her tremble. Rachel had told Quinn what Puck had said to her. Technically Beth wasn't her daughter anymore. But Rachel added a bit more to it saying that because Shelby wasn't going anywhere, Quinn would be able to see Beth and be able to watch her grow up. Rachel hated hearing how panicked and upset one of her best friends was, but Quinn realised that Rachel was right and her nerves calmed down. The last thing Quinn said down the phone to Rachel was, 'I'll talk to you later, I need to set off to babysit my best friend's little sister.' There was no hate when she said it and Rachel realised that Quinn was starting to accept that Beth wasn't her little girl anymore and Rachel couldn't have been more proud of her best friend right then.

"She seemed quite excited when she came over," Will revealed. "You could tell Joe was a little worried about her but she seemed calm. She actually asked me if I was going to adopt Beth too."

"I would like that to happen," Shelby admitted. "Beth Schuester sounds quite sweet as well as Shelby Schuester."

"Hold on a second," Puck cried, he didn't know what made him snap but hearing Beth with a different surname just seemed to anger him. He'd just got used to the fact that Beth was Corcoran and not Puckerman like she should have been. Even considering changing her name to someone Shelby wasn't married to yet, was incredible to him. "I…I need some fresh air!"

Puck then stood up and stormed out of the restaurant, not wanting to cause any more of a scene that he already had.

"I don't understand," Shelby muttered after he'd left.

"It's a touchy subject for him," Rachel replied. "It would have probably been better to introduce things one at a time, not altogether. I understand everything you've said but in a way Beth is his daughter and all of this has hit him hard. I hadn't noticed until tonight."

"I'll go talk to him," Will decided and stood up before Rachel could argue saying that it should be her to follow her boyfriend.

"It was going so well," Shelby whispered. Rachel nodded and looked toward the door for any sign that meant the two men had returned.

Meanwhile, Puck was sat on the steps just to the left of the car park sobbing slightly into his palms that rested on face. His knees were pulled up and when Will found him, the only way he could describe him was vulnerable. Will sat next to him but neither said anything. Puck hadn't finished thinking in his head about what had happened and Will knew he needed to wait until Puck was ready.

As soon as he'd stepped out of the restaurant, Puck knew that he shouldn't have snapped. Everything that Shelby had said made sense. She was Beth's mother and it was only right that Beth would change her name when Shelby did. Families have the same surname, that's what usually happens. He then thought about his own family. His name was Puckerman but his mother was King, her maiden name and Sarah had her father's surname, Aaron. That didn't seem right but that was the way it was. He realised that he needed to speak to Rachel about whose surname the babies would take, he would let her decide. He would willingly become Noah Berry for her if she so desired.

"I'm sorry about that," Puck muttered when his tears ceased.

"I understand why you did it," Will replied. "I probably would have reacted the same way if things were the opposite. I just want you to know that I love Beth as if she was my own daughter. I would never let anything or anyone hurt her."

"I know," Puck said. "And I'm glad it's you that's going to be her father. Quinn told me about how she was going to give Beth to you and your crazy ex." Will laughed slightly at the reference to Terri; she was actually more than crazy. "She got used to the idea of you being Beth's dad. Now it looks like it's coming true."

"Let's go back inside," Will decided, not knowing how to reply to that. "The food should be coming soon."

Will was proved right as when they got back to the table, four plates of steaming dishes were there ready for them to tuck into. No one said anything when the two men sat back down. Both mother and daughter looked questioningly at their other halves but neither man said anything until at least half of their meal.

"I'm quite looking forward to tomorrow," Puck revealed.

"I'm dreading it actually," Will replied and smirked at Shelby.

"My family are lovely," she insisted. Rachel looked over to her mother and raised her eyebrow. Yes, their family was lovely but they were also nosey and, in the twins case, rather frustrating.

"I'm just looking forward to seeing Gran, Gramps and my lovely aunties again," Rachel said. "Oh, Mom, Mia rang me last night actually."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she said she was looking forward to seeing me again and that she was looking forward to meeting Noah."

"Mia is the aunt that isn't Shelby's sister, right?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, Naomi is my sister. Amelia, or Mia as she's sometimes called, is Naomi's girlfriend," Shelby confirmed.

"Are they going to get married?" Will wondered.

"You'll have to ask them," Shelby replied shrugging. Truth be told, she wanted her sister and old friend to get married. They'd been together for fifteen years, it was time that they married, but she wasn't sure if same-sex marriage was legal in Ohio.

The night passed with no more chaos and the four of them walked to the car park together. Puck helped Rachel into his truck and instead of climbing into the driver's seat, he walked over to Shelby.

"Can I have a quick word?" He asked.

"Sure," Shelby replied.

"I'm sorry for snapping in there," he muttered.

"It's quite alright. I understand what I did wrong," Shelby said. "It was too much information for one sitting."

"Like I said, I'm sorry," Puck repeated before turning away and jumping into his truck. He started the ignition and started to pull away before Will knocked on his window.

"We'll pick you up at ten tomorrow to drive to Columbus," he said.

"We'll be ready," Puck replied and then drove off.

Rachel spent the whole journey looked intently at her boyfriend but he refused to look at her and he didn't say anything to her.

When they got to Rachel's, he helped her out of the truck and walked her to the door and kissed her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

"Noah, you bag's already here. Please stay?" She requested and shot him her best puppy dog eyes that he could never say no to.

Sighing slightly, he took her hand and let her lead him up to her bedroom. She kissed him slightly and went into the bathroom to get ready for the night. When she returned to her bedroom, Puck's clothes were on the floor, apart from his boxers, and he was lying in her bed facing the centre but his eyes were closed and the way his body was rising and falling gave away that he was already asleep.

Rachel smiled and turned on the lamp by her bed before turning the main light out. She crawled into bed next to him and flicked off the lamp and snuggled into Puck's body. Despite being fully asleep, as soon as he felt Rachel next to him, his arms wrapped around her body and pulled her closer to him and she drifted to sleep dreaming about the weekend ahead.


	28. Chapter 28

_I know in a previous chapter I said that Shelby's ex-boyfriend was called Carter Mills but I didn't think he'd turn up in my story again. I've since changed the plot a tiny bit and no longer like the name. From now on, Carter Mills is called Scott Frances. I hope this clears up any confusion you may get. Sorry!_

The next morning, Puck was woken up by hearing running water from Rachel's en suite. He didn't know what time it was so he rolled over and saw that it had just turned 9 am. Rachel must have only just woken up because her side of the bed was still slightly warm. He then rubbed his eyes awake and stretched before climbing out of bed and sneaked into the bathroom to see Rachel stepping into the hot shower. After quickly dropping his boxers so they pooled around his ankles, he slipped into the shower behind Rachel, wrapping his arms around her as much as her pregnant belly would allow.

"Good morning, baby," she murmured as she turned round to kiss him.

"Good morning to you, too," he replied, "I'm sorry about last night. Everything just hit me and I didn't know how to react."

Rachel put her finger on his lips before saying, "shush. Everyone understands and forgives you."

He then kissed her finger before turning to grab the shower gel and squeezing a dollop onto his hand so he could wash and massage Rachel's back.

After their shower, they quickly dressed. Rachel wore another woolly jumper but they weren't like her reindeer sweaters but actual modern jumpers that were the height of fashion. She paired her jumper with her favourite light wash jeans, a pair of safe and warm boots and topped it off with Puck's leather jacket. Puck wore his usual jeans and a flannel shirt over a band top, which this morning happened to be a muse one, and converses.

"Will I ever get that jacket back?" Puck asked jokily.

"Nope, it's mine forever," Rachel replied and stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend.

Puck crossed the room and kissed Rachel before she could say anything else. He then took her overnight bag out of her hand and replaced it with his own hand as he lifted her bag onto his shoulder. The two then walked down the stairs and joined Hiram, Leroy and Carly in the kitchen.

"Morning guys," Carly greeted from her chair at the breakfast bar. It looked like Leroy was cooking pancakes once again by looking at the stack in front of her. Rachel then looked at the stove and saw Leroy stood there with the pancake batter next to him.

"Morning Carls, morning Dads," Rachel said before taking a seat next to Carly.

Leroy walked over to Rachel with a plate of vegan pancakes and kissed her temple before putting the plate in front of her.

"No fair, Mr B. Why don't I get my pancakes first?" Puck whined. To him, there was nothing better than Leroy's pancakes. Well, apart from his time with Rachel.

"My princess gets them first," Leroy replied laughing slightly. "Besides, the last time I gave you a vegan pancake you said you were going to throw up and as I heard you coming downstairs, I put the vegan ones on first."

"Well hurry up with mine, Pop!"

Leroy laughed again at Puck's excitement. It also amused him when Puck called him Pop, despite not being related. Not yet anyway.

"What time is Shelby picking you up?" Hiram asked from the table which he preferred to the breakfast bar. He had an empty plate in front of him and was reading this morning's newspaper delivered courtesy of the local paperboy.

"Will said they'd be here at 10," Puck replied.

He then squealed like a girl when Leroy placed the plate of pancakes in front of him. Suddenly forgetting his manners, Puck dived for the chocolate sauce that Rachel had just put down. Seeing what her boyfriend was after, Rachel grasped the bottle again and hid it behind her back.

Puck's eyes narrowed. "Give me my chocolate sauce, woman," he demanded.

"One, don't call me woman and two, remember your manners, babe," Rachel chided. "Daisy will not be pleased if you act like this in her kitchen, just like my fathers don't appreciate it in theirs either."

Realising what had happened, Puck sat back down and looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "Rach, darling, could you possibly pass me the chocolate sauce please."

"Of course," she replied and handed him the item he wanted.

Nothing more was said until a car horn was honked from outside. Rachel rushed to the window but the car wasn't the one she was expecting.

"Carly, Finn's here," she stated as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, thanks, Rach," Carly replied. She then stood up and checked her mouth for any lingering chocolate or cream. When she deemed herself appropriate, she walked upstairs quickly and grabbed a couple of things before going back down. "Dad, Daddy, I'm not too sure what time I'll be back but it'll probably be late, so I'll text you when I'm setting off."

Hiram and Leroy had meant it when they said they'd become Carly's guardians if it was necessary. It turned out it wasn't but the closer they got to her, the more they wanted to become her guardians, even though she was only a couple of months from turning 18. They had taken Carly's parents to court and had won fair and square. Since that happened, which was two weeks before Sectionals, Carly had started calling Hiram 'Daddy' and Leroy 'Dad', just like Rachel did. They were now more of a family than before.

"That's fine, sweetie," Hiram replied. Carly rushed forward and kissed Hiram, Leroy and Rachel on their foreheads and smiled at Puck before walking out of the house and skipped down the drive to meet Finn.

Once Rachel and Puck had finished eating, they helped the two Mr Berrys with putting everything in the dishwasher and clearing all the things from the counters until they heard a knock on the door.

Rachel folded the tea towel she was holding and placed it on the side before going into the hallway to open the door.

"Oh, hey Mom," she greeted quietly so her fathers didn't hear her say 'mom'. She still didn't know how they would react, that was also why she said Daisy and not Gran earlier.

"You two ready?" She asked.

"We'll be two seconds," Rachel murmured before walking into the kitchen. "Dad, Daddy, Shelby's here. Come on, Noah."

Shelby's smiled faulted after hearing Rachel say Shelby and not 'Mom'. Was that all to make Shelby feel better, did Rachel not want to admit to calling her 'Mom' in front of her fathers? She didn't know but she really wanted to find out.

Rachel and Puck walked out of the kitchen with Hiram and Leroy following them. Puck grabbed his and Rachel's bags before slipping past Shelby and heading towards the car where Will was still sitting.

"I'm going to miss you," Rachel said to her fathers and hugged each of them and placed a kiss on their cheeks.

"We'll miss you, too, Princess," Hiram began hugging Rachel tightly.

"But we'll see you again tomorrow night," Leroy finished stroking Rachel's cheek. "Have you got all of your medication?"

Rachel held up her small bag that she'd just picked up by the front door, "it's all here," she replied.

"Bye sweetheart," Hiram said.

She hugged her dads quickly one last time and joined Shelby by the door. Shutting the door behind her, she reached out to take Shelby's hand but Shelby shifted and moved her hand to itch her forehead slightly. Feeling rather offended, Rachel sped up a little bit towards the land rover that was parked at the bottom of her driveway. Puck helped her into the car as always and she huffed when she clicked her seat belt in place. Beth was sat in the middle of the two teens looked over to Rachel and reached out her hands as she always did when she saw her sister.

"Rachie!" She giggled as Will started the ignition.

"Hello my sweet Bethy Boo!" Rachel replied giggling with the toddler.

Shelby looked in the mirror and watched her daughters' interaction for the first part of the journey. They had to stop after forty minutes as Beth got a little restless and Rachel needed to toilet. Will and Puck stayed in the car as Rachel and Shelby, the latter pushing Beth in her pram, walked into the service station.

Rachel rushed off to the toilet, claiming she was desperate. Shelby let her go but she frowned; she had no idea what was wrong with Rachel but she knew this was her chance to find out.

Once Rachel came out of the toilet she started to speed off back to the car.

"Hold on a second, Rach," Shelby called. "What's going on?"

"You have to ask me that?" Rachel asked. "You refused to take my hand earlier!"

"I'm sorry but you called me Shelby in front of your dads. I don't understand why," she admitted.

Everything made sense now for Rachel. She knew she didn't call Shelby 'Mom' in front of her fathers in fear of hurting their feelings but she didn't realised that calling her mom 'Shelby' in front of her would actually offend her.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Rachel replied and explained her reasoning.

"Oh, I didn't realise," Shelby murmured. "Perhaps we need to sit down with your fathers and discuss it."

Rachel shrugged and hugged her mother before they continued back to the car.

"Everything alright?" Puck asked as Rachel got back into the car and buckled Beth back into her seat.

"Perfect," Rachel replied and smiled as she laced her fingers between Pucks with their hands rested above Beth's head.

The rest of the car journey wasn't as bad as the first part. The conversation flowed and they all laughed at different things. Then finally after just over an hour of driving, Shelby spoke up.

"Left here, Will. Third on the right."

When Will pulled up on the drive, Rachel unbuckled her belt immediately and quickly leant over to unbuckle Beth's. She picked the little girl up under her armpits and slid out the car. Once she was out, she placed Beth on her hip and she started walking toward the door. Shelby followed, leaving Will and Puck to carry their bags.

The mother and daughters were only half way up the drive when the door shot open. Stood in the threshold was Daisy and Jack.

"Gran, Gramps!" Rachel cried. She handed Beth over to Shelby and then practically ran the door.

At that point, Daisy and Jack had already started walking towards them. Daisy held out her arms and literally threw them around Rachel when she got there.

"Rachel, darling," Daisy murmured rocking Rachel slightly.

"Hey," Rachel replied and leant back from her gran before Jack wrapped his own arms around his granddaughter. "I'm so glad you're better," she said after she leant away from her granddad.

Shelby then passed Beth back to Rachel causing the toddler to giggle. Daisy and Jack then took turns hugging their daughter.

Rachel looked back over her shoulder and saw Will and Puck holding the bags and looking awkward, neither knowing what to do.

"Gran, Gramps, let us introduce our partners," Rachel began. She then balanced Beth on her hip with one arm secured around her and then held a hand out for Puck to take. Realising what Rachel wanted, Puck walked further up the drive and took her outstretched hand before lacing their fingers together. "This is Noah, my boyfriend," Rachel announced. "Noah, this is my grandma Daisy and my granddad Jack."

"Nice to meet you," Puck said.

Daisy opened her arms to Puck, who glanced at Rachel, who nodded, before he dropped the two bags he was carrying and let Daisy hug him slightly awkwardly as his hand was still holding Rachel's. Jack then stepped forward and held out his hand for Puck to shake. Puck shook Jack's hand with his spare one and smiled nervously.

"Now, Noah, Amelia has told me that Rachel has requested I don't go heavy on you, so I'm not going to," Jack started. Rachel breathed a sigh of relief and secretly kept a mental note to thank Mia when she and Naomi came over later. "I'm just going to ask you a simple question." Puck nodded to show that he understood. "Do you love Rachel?"

"More than anything," Puck replied honestly.

"Then that's fine with me," Jack said.

Shelby was about to turn round to see where Will had got to but it was unnecessary as Will appeared next to her.

"Hello, I'm Will Schuester, Shelby's fiancé," he said as he offered his hand.

"Fiancé, huh?" Jack murmured and hesitated in shaking Will's hand. Will visibly gulp and Shelby gave her father her 'Coach Corcoran' glare. When Jack saw that, he quickly held out his hand and shook Will's hand. "Welcome to the family."

Rachel laughed at her grandfather's behaviour before walking into the house with Daisy. Puck's hand still in Rachel's with their fingers laced together and Beth was still resting on Rachel's hip. Once they were inside, Rachel handed Beth to Daisy so she could say hello to her other granddaughter and introduce her to Jack who hadn't met Beth before as he was in hospital the last time Rachel and Shelby had gone to Columbus. Rachel then motioned to give Puck a tour of the house.

"You're staying in Shelby's old room again," Daisy called to them as they started walking toward the stairs. Rachel nodded before continuing up the stairs with Puck following her carrying their bags.

Shelby and Will went straight up to Shelby's new room in the house. Shelby was glad that she was sleeping in the guestroom instead of her own bedroom. She didn't like the idea of sleeping in the bed with Will where she slept as a young girl. It felt weird for her, especially because that was the bed where she lost her virginity.

It was the summer after her sophomore year and she'd been dating her boyfriend, he co-captain of the glee club, Scott Frances for about a year. They were the 'it' couple at their school, something Shelby had been quite proud of at that point. They had just finished a sweet date and Shelby had the house to herself as Naomi was at her boyfriend, Colin's house and her parents were visiting Daisy's sister. It was a memorable experience for Shelby, not rushed or too much for her, it was perfect.

She dated Scott until just after graduation in her senior year. He was going to UCLA studying drama and she was going nowhere. She couldn't afford to go to college so she had to remain in Columbus but she was glad she had, otherwise she would never have seen Leroy and Hiram's ad for a surrogate. Shelby had witnessed Naomi's pregnancy with Brady and it didn't seem that bad so she went for it. The break up between her and Scott wasn't fully amicable either. There was plenty of shouting and many rows and it took its toll on the both of them. No matter how much they loved each other, they knew the long distance wouldn't work and there was the fact that their futures were so different; Scott's future was planned for him and Shelby had no clue how to achieve what she wanted. Although it's been hard over the years, she wouldn't change it for the world, especially now she had Rachel as her daughter once more.

"This is my old room," Shelby murmured before quickly passing it, "It's practically Rachel's room now." Her voice cracked when she said this. It hadn't hit her the last time she and Rachel came over but she knew the reason. This time she was here with the man she truly loved but he wasn't the man that she thought it was going to be. She also never thought that she'd ever see Scott again but trust her father to send her to the shops that afternoon and suggest that Rachel joined her.

_Thank you so much for the reviews for this story; it really makes my day to read them all. I also take your requests into order so that you guys will like the story even more. Your wish is my command…well to a certain extent. I'm back at college so my updates will be slow again, sorry. I hate long waits between chapters so I'll try my best to keep writing and uploading. With all this said, I'm going to love you and leave you. Thank you and don't forget to review, it's almost on 150! Thank you!_


	29. Chapter 29

However, that was the case. After the two separate tours, Rachel and Puck were found sitting on the sofa entertaining Beth while Jack and Will were sat around the kitchen table getting to know one another with Daisy and Shelby leaning against the kitchen counter deciding on what they should cook for dinner that night.

"What about lasagne and salad?" Shelby asked as she opened the refrigerator door checking for the ingredients.

"That's actually a good idea," Daisy replied, "however, we don't have much salad in and we don't have any tofu for Rachel."

"You wouldn't mind popping to the shops for us, would you Shel?" Jack said from the table looking up at Shelby intently. He had two reasons for sending her there. The main one was that he was too lazy to go to the shops as he knew Daisy was about to ask him to go. The other reason was so that he could grill Will about his plans for him and Shelby, not to mention Rachel and Beth as well.

"Yes, Dad, I would love to go," Shelby murmured sarcastically rolling her eyes, she knew the exact reasons her father was sending her.

"Fabulous. Rachel!" Jack called. A moment or two later, Rachel walked into the kitchen with Beth on her hip once more. "Will you join your mother in her journey to the grocery store?"

"Umm, sure," Rachel replied and shrugged, "Why not."

So it was settled, Rachel passed Beth to Puck and grabbed her coat and headed to the car with her mom.

"Naomi, Amelia and the boys should be here when you're back," Daisy said as she waved them off.

This made Rachel want to stay so she could greet her family but she'd already agreed to go to the store with her mom. She was sure that her grandfather would spend the time they weren't there to question Puck and Will while they weren't around.

oOoOo

Rachel and Shelby had collected all of the salad ingredients that they needed for tonight and were just heading to the tofu when a very familiar person practically walked into Shelby.

"Do forgive me…Shelby!" The stranger cried.

He was the same age as Shelby with flecks of grey in his dark red hair. He had green eyes that sparkled when he looked into Shelby's. He wore casual jeans but a smart shirt and suit jacket on top.

"Oh my gosh, Scott!" Shelby gasped in surprise. She never expected to see Scott again, not since the break up in senior year… "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with my family. We're visiting my parents. Why are you here?" He asked.

"Same actually," Shelby murmured. "You're married?"

"Yes, again," he sighed. "First one didn't work out. I have three kids too." He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and took out a picture before handing it to Shelby. "The girl is Charlotte and the boys are Joshua and Jeremy. They're ten, twelve and six respectively. Are you married?"

"No, but she's engaged," Rachel said stepping forward. This must have been the Scott Mia told her about, the Scott that broke her mother's heart. "I'm Rachel, Shelby's eldest daughter."

"Hello, Rachel. I'm Scott. You have daughters?" He asked turning back to Shelby.

"Yes, two. Rachel here is eighteen and my other daughter, Beth, is almost two," she replied.

"Quite the age difference," He stated.

He then started to think and Shelby knew this because he always played with lip when he thought about something. Shelby knew what it was but he was wrong but she didn't know how to tell him that it wasn't true.

"Yeah, but that's the circumstances. Anyway, it was lovely seeing you again, Scott, but we have to go and get the tofu for Rachel and then get back to Mom's," Shelby said quickly.

"Pass my regards to Daisy and Jack," he requested, "we'll have to catch up soon."

He then turned and walked off shaking his head. Rachel looked up at her mother but Shelby shook her head at Rachel and walked off.

Shelby was distracted for the rest of the shopping trip and even bought a couple of bottles of wine; she would need them tonight, she said to herself. Rachel literally ran behind her mother in attempt to keep up with her. She was grateful when they got to the car. After unloading the shopping into the trunk, she climbed into the passenger seat and waited for her mom to get in. She saw Shelby calm herself down before she stepped into the car.

"Is everything okay, Mom?" Rachel asked concern was heavy in her eyes.

"Perfectly," Shelby muttered in reply but kept her eyes on the wheel in front of her.

They got back to Daisy and Jack's quickly and saw that Daisy had been correct; Naomi's car was parked on the drive where Shelby's had been previously. Shelby parked just beside it. However, instead of helping Rachel with the shopping, Shelby ran into the house and shouted for Puck and the boys to help Rachel with the shopping before going into the kitchen and grabbing Naomi's hand and dragging her upstairs.

Shelby led Naomi to the latter's old bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Shelby, what on earth is going on?" Naomi demanded as she tried to catch her breath. She was just starting to get to know Will before Shelby had grabbed her.

"He's back," Shelby whispered, "Scott," she added when Naomi looked confused.

"Oh shit," Naomi replied and then joined her sister on the bed.

She didn't know what to say at all, mainly because she didn't know why Shelby was getting so worked up over him. It was then that she realised that Shelby had slept with Scott about two months after she was inseminated with Rachel. She figured that Scott knew about that, but with the look on Shelby's face, it seemed that she hadn't told him. This would mean that when Scott saw Shelby today, he would presume that Rachel was his. However, Shelby revealed that was so. She then went to say that when she saw him today, she had no feelings toward him, she wasn't even that jealous that he had kids or that he'd been married twice. She loved Will now more than anything and couldn't wait to be his wife. Her life wasn't the best, but she now had the family that she'd craved for so long. She didn't want to ruin it but she knew that Rachel was bound to ask questions. She just hoped that she could put those questions off until when they got back to Lima.

oOoOo

As soon as Rachel and Shelby left, Puck was still stood in the kitchen with Beth on his hip, Will was sitting at the table with Jack and Daisy was perched by the sink.

"So, Noah, Beth seems pretty comfortable with you," Daisy murmured.

Puck didn't know what to say; he didn't know whether Shelby had told them the truth about Beth. He glanced over to Will to see if he knew but the teacher shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he didn't know. Will gave Puck a half smile that Puck took to mean 'tell them, they'll find out sooner or later'.

"That's because she'd technically my daughter," Puck whispered. Hoping that saying it quietly would make Daisy not yell at him.

"How?" Jack asked. He was calm but that just scared Puck even more. However, Puck didn't want Jack to get angry, he wanted to make a good impression still, so he told him and Daisy about his sophomore year and about Quinn.

"I don't regret anything," Puck said as he finished his long story, "the only thing I regret is letting Rach go the first time. I love Quinn as a sister and I love Beth as my daughter, yes, but I love her as my girlfriend's little sister more because that's what she is. The twins Rachel's carrying are my children and I will treat them that way. Rachel and I will always be in Beth's life because Rachel is in Shelby's. I promise that I will never hurt Rachel like I did Quinn. I've learnt my lesson."

"We're very happy that you could tell us the truth," Daisy said finally.

"Yes, we can see that you have changed and you are perfect for our Rachel," Jack added.

"Did Shelby not tell you?" Will asked.

"She said she adopted Beth from a teenager in Rachel's class, she didn't go into the details," Daisy replied and shrugged.

Puck was about to say something but there was a brief knock on the door and five people stormed in. The two twins ran straight to the game room, the older boy jumped onto the couch and switched on the television and the two women walked into the kitchen.

"Tommy, Jamie and Brady get your butts into this kitchen and meet the partners of your aunt and cousin!" Daisy demanded before greeting Naomi and Amelia in a tight hug. Jack then stood up and greeted the two women in the same way as his wife.

Will stood up and walked straight up to the Naomi. He knew this was Naomi because she looked exactly like Shelby except she was blonde.

"Hi, I'm Will," he announced, "I'm Shelby's fiancé," he added and held out his hand.

"It's lovely to meet you. I'm Naomi," Naomi replied and shook his hand.

"And I'm Amelia." Amelia stepped forward and knocked Will's outstretched hand away and hugged him. "We're family," she said answering his silent question, "Families don't shake hands." Mia then turned round and saw Puck standing with Beth in his arms. "You must be Noah," she guessed.

"Yes," Puck said. "I'm Noah, Rachel's boyfriend."

Naomi and Amelia shared a smile. This wasn't what they expected when Rachel had described him. His Mohawk was unusual but it suited him. He also looked down at Beth like she was the most precious thing in the world; it was the face he pulled when he looked at Rachel. Both Naomi and Amelia knew about Puck's relationship to Beth, Shelby had told them everything.

A couple of seconds later, the boys walked into the room and introduced themselves. They shook hands with Will and Puck, after the latter had passed over Beth to Will.

"You'd better treat our girls right," Brady stated. It wasn't a threat but it could be taken that way. Brady seemed to be exactly like Jack.

"We promise," Will replied and Puck nodded.

"Hey, Rachel said you play the guitar," Jamie said looking up at Puck, "I play drums and Tommy plays guitar too, fancy joining us?"

"Sure!"

Puck kissed Beth on her forehead and then walked out of the room and joined the twins in the game room. Brady hugged his grandmother and followed Puck and the twins to join in with the music.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing through different songs only pausing when Shelby and Rachel returned. Puck had just exited the room when Shelby dashed past him, grabbed her sister and headed upstairs. He then motioned to the twins and Brady and the four of them brought the shopping in. Rachel headed straight into the kitchen to greet Amelia and Naomi, well she couldn't greet Naomi as she had gone upstairs with her mother.

"Hello, Rach," Mia greeted and hugged her niece.

"Hey, Mia!" Rachel replied.

The two didn't need anything else and they started talking rapidly, Puck couldn't get a word in at all. He soon gave up and joined the twins and Brady in the games rooms. They'd packed in playing music now and had switched to the Xbox.

About half an hour later, Rachel was sent upstairs by Daisy and timidly knocked on Naomi's door before it opened slightly.

"Gran said it's dinner time," Rachel murmured.

"We'll be right down," Naomi replied and turned to look at Shelby.

Shelby's makeup was a little smudged but it wouldn't be obvious that she'd been crying if she washed off the smudged make up. After doing just that, Naomi squeezed her younger sister's shoulders in reassurance and comfort before they walked downstairs together.

Will shot Shelby a concerned look but she just shook her head and mouth 'later'. She didn't know what she'd tell him later but she could think of that then. Will had wanted to follow Shelby and Naomi up stairs but Daisy had warned him against it saying that when Shelby was like this, she would talk to no one but Naomi. Daisy had no idea what was wrong with Shelby either but she was used to the girls rushing into a room and grabbing the other when there was something of importance that needed to be discussed between the two. She just hoped that one of them would inform her later.

The meal itself was delicious, there was lots cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes to spread around. There were different types of peppers and olives and a number of sauces and dips and that were just the side dishes. Daisy and Amelia had cooked a big pot of beef lasagne and a small pot of tofu lasagne too.

"Is yours okay, Rach?" Amelia asked, "I've never made tofu lasagne before."

"It's amazing, don't worry," Rachel replied and smiled at her aunt before tucking back in to her food.

The rest of the meal contained mild discussions about different things but Will never took his eyes off of Shelby. He knew she was keeping something from him but he didn't want to ask, he knew she'd talk to him later. However, he didn't know if he could wait that long.

Once the meal was over, Shelby stood and began washing up. Naomi immediately went to dry up next to her, but Will took the towel out of her hand murmuring, "allow me."

Naomi looked puzzled but nodded and grabbed Rachel's hand to she could greet and talk to her niece properly as Shelby had made that impossible. Puck and Amelia walked out with them, the latter carrying Beth on her hip. The boys went back into the game room to continue playing and the women sat on the sofa and started gossiping like normal. Jack and Daisy stood and joined the women in the living room. Jack had to pull Daisy and she reluctantly followed. She, too, wanted to know what was wrong with Shelby but she knew her daughter wouldn't tell her yet, if at all.

It was silent between the pair at first. Shelby just washed the dishes that were too big for the dishwasher and Will wiped them and placed the on the kitchen counter, as he didn't know where they went.

However, after a few minutes of silence, Shelby had had enough.

"I can't tell you yet," she murmured, not turning to look at Will. "I don't know how to tell you and I don't know what is going on entirely."

"Then I'll wait," he replied and looked at her, "Until you're ready."

Shelby sighed and dried her hands on her spare towel after she'd finished the last pot. Will quickly finished and then put the pots in the cupboards that Shelby pointed to. When he'd finished, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"I love you, Shelby," he told her honestly and kissed her forehead.

"I know," she replied and looked him in the eye, "I love you, too." She then leant up and kissed him passionately and they both felt the love that they shared. This was what Shelby wanted to feel when she was with the man she loved. This was not what she felt when she kissed Scott all those years ago. Will was definitely the man for her. Things started to get heated when the doorbell rang. Will and Shelby pulled apart and she recognised the voice at the door.

"Hey, Naomi." Scott said, "Is Shelby in?"

Will was the first to storm out of the kitchen and into the hallway with Shelby rushing after him.

"Why do you want to see my fiancée?" Will demanded.

"I heard she was back in town so I thought I'd pop by," Scott lied in reply.

"How about Shelby meets you for coffee tomorrow morning," Naomi suggested.

"That's sounds okay," Scott replied, "Ten o'clock at the usual place?"

"Perfect," Naomi said simply causing Shelby to glare at her.

Scott nodded and waved at Jack and Daisy, both smiling and waving in return, before turning and leaving.

"Who's he?" Will asked Shelby.

"That's Scott," Daisy replied for Shelby, "He was Shelby's boyfriend when they were at high school. They were together for around three years, if I remember correctly."

With this, Will's face started getting red and Rachel and Puck knew that he was only a few minutes from kicking off.

"Will, calm down, sweetie," Shelby said and stepped forward and put her hands on his neck in attempt to calm him down.

"I'm calm," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

Shelby leant in and kissed him briefly before pulling back and smiling at him. She took his hand in hers and led him to the sofa. He sat down and she sat on his knee and leant back before they joined the conversations, Rachel, Mia, Naomi, Jack and Daisy were having before. Shelby was distracted throughout the whole thing; if she had it her way, she wouldn't meet Scott tomorrow but now she had to and she was dreading it completely.


	30. Chapter 30

The next morning arrived quicker than Shelby would have liked. She and Will retired to bed around one in the morning after staying up late to catch up with her sister and her girlfriend. Rachel had gone to bed around ten and Puck joined her around half an hour later, the pregnancy was still taking its toll on her, she was four months pregnant now and all she wanted to do was sleep, luckily the morning sickness had practically disappeared. Naomi and Amelia ended up staying the night and Brady drove the twins home at around eleven.

Shelby rolled over and saw that it was nine o'clock. If she had it her way, she'd roll back over and snuggle closer to Will and go back to sleep, however, she couldn't do this as her lovely but god damn annoying sister had made her plans. Instead, Shelby reluctantly slipped out of bed before stretching out properly and heading to the bathroom. She showered and moisturised before heading back to her room with Will and getting dressed. She put her makeup on before deciding what to wear. She'd gone with neutral makeup so she'd decided to wear the same. She decided against wearing her usual colours of black and purple and chose a pale brown blouse and a pair of fitted dark jeans. She topped her outfit with a leather jacket and a pair of sturdy leather shoes, with a slight heel. She was Shelby Corcoran, she never wore flats despite the icy paths.

She walked downstairs and was surprised to see Rachel sat at the table with Beth. Rachel looked up at the sound of heels walking into the kitchen and smiled, knowing that it would be her mom.

"Morning, Mom," she greeted and smiled. She'd been awake for over an hour. Beth was sleeping in her and Puck's room to give her mom a bit of a rest. Beth had slept in till eight but started to get restless. Puck offered to get up with her but Rachel refused saying that she needed to see her mom in the morning.

"Momma!" Beth giggled and motioned for Shelby to pick her up so that's what Shelby did. She walked over to her daughters and picked Beth up and kissed her forehead before kissing Rachel on hers.

"Morning my precious babies!" Shelby said and grinned happily.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked timidly. She'd been afraid to ask Shelby what was the matter yesterday. She was still nervous but wanted to know.

"I'm okay, I just don't really want to meet up with Scott again," Shelby replied honestly.

"I don't understand why. What's wrong with him?"

"He broke my heart, Rach," Shelby shrugged as she sat down next to Rachel. "As my mom said, Scott and I dated for three years and then he went off to university and I couldn't afford to join him." Shelby sighed and poured herself a glass of orange juice before continuing. "I suggested that we attempted a long distance relationship but he blew me off and it wasn't very friendly. I didn't talk to anyone really for a couple of months. I barely even spoke to Naomi and that was saying something. A year or so later, I saw your dads' ad and agreed to do it. Everything went perfectly and I was inseminated with you. A month later, I was back here in Columbus and so was Scott and we met up with each other. You can probably get what happened." She then took a large slurp of her drink before blurting out the rest of what she needed to tell Rachel. "After yesterday, I'm pretty sure he thinks he's your father."

Rachel said nothing at first; she was in shock. She knew the story of how she came to be. Her fathers mixed their sperm and they impregnated a couple of Shelby's eggs. They picked the one that was developing the best and inseminated Shelby with the developing foetus and that became Rachel.

"Why does he think that?" Rachel finally asked.

"The dates add up, Rach," Shelby replied. "That all happened eighteen years ago and you're eighteen. It makes sense seeing as I didn't tell him that I was pregnant already. He doesn't know that I was a surrogate."

"So that's why you're nervous to meet him," Rachel said as everything dawned on her.

Shelby nodded regrettably and then glanced at her watch. It was almost ten o'clock meaning that she needed to set off and meet Scott. The coffee shop was just around the corner from her parent's house so she could walk if she wanted to. However, seeing as it was cold and in case she needed a quick getaway, she decided to drive.

She said her goodbyes to Rachel and Beth before rushing upstairs to grab her car keys. Will was sitting up in bed when she walked in and she almost decided then and there to not meet Scott and just stay with Will.

"Good morning, beautiful," Will muttered sleepily.

Shelby smiled fondly and grabbed her keys. She then walked up to Will and kissed him passionately before accepting a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't be too long," he whispered and regretfully let her go.

"I'll be back soon," she promised before waving and leaving.

She repeated her goodbyes to Rachel and Beth and gave both of them a kiss on their foreheads before rushing out into the cold and jumping into her car. Once she got into the car park, she checked her watch and realised that she was ten minutes late. She didn't mind today though. Usually, the thought of being late horrified her, but she just didn't care this morning.

Once inside the coffee shop, she looked to the table where she and Scott had spent so much time together all those years ago and she wasn't surprised to see him sitting there with two mugs in front of him. She quickly took a deep breath and summoned her courage before walking over to the table.

"Good morning, Shelby," Scott greeted happily. "I got you a vanilla latte like you always had."

"Hello," she murmured in reply and accepted the coffee and sat down opposite him.

"I'm just going to come out with it…" he began but Shelby cut him off.

"No."

"No what?"

"Rachel isn't your daughter," Shelby said.

"How did you know that was what I was going to ask?" He asked.

"We dated for three years, Scott," Shelby replied and sighed, "I've known you since we were in junior high. I know what you're like."

"I don't understand then."

At this, Shelby decided to tell him what she should have done him years ago about the surrogacy. As Shelby said more, the more Scott's face fell.

"You mean you did that all for money?" He asked horrified.

"At first that's what I had in mind," she revealed, "but then I saw how happy I was making Hiram and Leroy and then my mind set changed. I was doing it to make their dreams come true. I'm so glad it happened too, without doing that I wouldn't have Rachel in my life, I wouldn't have Beth and I wouldn't have Will."

"Who's Will?"

"My fiancé," Shelby said and smiled brightly just thinking about him. "I'm sorry for giving you false hope, but I have to go."

"I still love you, Shelby. That's why my first marriage didn't work," Scott revealed and reached out his hand to take hers, however, Shelby moved her hand before he could grasp it.

"My love for you went as soon as you broke my heart, Scott," Shelby replied as she stood up. "I love Will and I'm going to marry him."

She didn't wait for an answer. She just adjusted her jacket and left the coffee shop without looking back. Scott breaking her heart really was the best thing that ever happened to her. She just hadn't registered it at that time.

Once she got home, she saw that everyone was in the kitchen. Naomi was by the stove cooking up a big fried breakfast and everyone else was sitting around the table. Beth was sat on Rachel's knee and both she and Puck were pulling faces in order to keep her amused. However, Beth's attention was taken from when as soon as Shelby stepped into the kitchen.

"Momma back!" She squealed happily clapping her hands together.

"Yes, I am, baby," Shelby replied and walked over to Beth and picked the giggling girl up under her armpits and pulled her close to her chest to hug her tightly.

"Everything go okay, Shelb?" Naomi asked turning away from the stove.

"Yeah, it was fine," she replied.

Will then looked at her expectedly but Shelby mouthed 'later' to him again. This annoyed Will slightly and he frowned and that didn't go unnoticed by Shelby. She sighed and walked over to him. He pulled out his chair slightly and she sat on his lap. She secured Beth on her lap with one arm and wrapped the other one around Will's shoulders.

"I'll tell you when it's just us," she whispered and kissed his cheek.

Will leaned into the kiss and nodded.

"Want any help with the food, Naomi?" Daisy asked taking the attention away from Shelby and Will and for that, Shelby was grateful.

"Yeah, I'm about to dish up," Naomi replied.

Daisy and Amelia stepped forward and helped her serve the breakfast. It was barely half past ten, Shelby hadn't been out for long. Everyone had full plates of sausages, bacon, eggs, beans and everything else associated with a fry up. Beth had a plate of scrambled eggs and beans. Rachel was the odd one out with a bowl of cereal.

"You sure you don't want beans on toast, Rach?" Amelia asked again.

"I'm perfectly okay with my cereal," Rachel replied and sighed. Amelia looked out her with her eyebrow raised. "I promise, Mia."

With this said, Amelia dropped it and went back to eating her food. The rest of the breakfast only contained light conversation about what the plans for that day were going to be. Naomi also said that the boys would return in the afternoon after the twins finished their soccer match.

The rest of the day actually went quite quickly for everyone. Puck and Rachel spent practically all day with Amelia and Naomi and Puck could really see why Rachel loved her aunts so much. Puck spent a fair part of the afternoon getting to know the boys more when they arrived later on. Rachel loved her cousins, despite not knowing them that long, but they didn't really have much in common so she didn't really want to spend much time with them.

Daisy spent a large part of the day questioning Rachel more on her pregnancy.

"Shelby says you're having a boy and a girl," she said delightfully.

"Yeah, we're very excited," Rachel replied, "We haven't started discussing names yet," she added knowing that was the next question her grandmother was about to ask.

"Are you applied to any colleges next year?" Jack asked. "I know it's going to be hard with the babies but you need to continue your education."

"I know but we haven't. We've decided that we're going to take a year out of education and look after the babies," Rachel answered honestly.

A couple of week ago, Rachel and Puck had sat down with Rachel's dads and Edith and discussed what they were going to do. They had all decided that it would be best for Rachel to bond with the babies before rushing off to college. It's been scientifically proven that if a baby doesn't bond with their mother then their development doesn't go as smoothly as wanted. Rachel hadn't had that bonding with Shelby so she wanted it to happen with her children.

"We?" Shelby asked. She was sat on the sofa in between Will and her mom.

"Umm, me, my dads, Noah and Edith, Noah's mom," Rachel replied.

Shelby grimaced at this. Even Puck's mother had been including in the discussion but she hadn't. She definitely needed to speak with Hiram and Leroy; they really needed to start including her in everything that regarded Rachel.

"Sorry, we should have included you," Rachel added as it dawned on her that that was what she needed to do. "We'll do that from now on, I'll make sure of it."

Grinning slightly, Shelby nodded her head before leaning back and resting her head on Will's shoulder. Will leant down and kiss Shelby's forehead as she snuggled further into his side.

"You two are worse than teenagers!" Daisy stated shaking her head at her daughter's antics. She smiled fondly at them to show she was joking.

"Tell me about it," Rachel said. "Noah and I were told by Mom to go to her office one morning and when we got there, they had their tongues down each other's throat."

"Shelby Elizabeth!" Daisy chastised shaking her head again.

Shelby just smiled and rolled her eyes at her mother. "I'm sure you and Dad were like this at some point," she said.

"In private. Not with family around," Daisy said.

"Not if I had it my way," Jack replied and laughed at the shocked expression on Daisy's face. "Oh darling, don't be too shocked. You knew that was the case."

Rachel, Puck and Jack couldn't help it and started laughing loudly. Beth, who was sat on Rachel's lap as usual, looked around and giggled simply because her sister was laughing. Soon, Shelby, Will, Amelia and Naomi were laughing. Daisy was then caught up in the giggling and started to chortle herself.

It was just unfortunate for them that when the laughter started, Tommy, Jamie and Brady walked through the front door. They just stood there in shock seeing their family members practically crying with laughter.

"What the hell is going on?" Jamie asked.

"Blame your grandfather," Naomi choked out as she wiped away the tears that had started to fall with her laughter.

"We don't want to know," Tommy murmured and the three boys walked out of the living room and headed to the gaming room.

Puck glanced over to Rachel and she nodded. He leant forward and kissed her sweetly before stroking her cheek fondly and followed the boys into the game room. The laughter quickly died down and the seven of them went back to their original conversation about Rachel's pregnancy.

Before everyone knew it, it was started to get late and Rachel, Puck, Beth, Will and Shelby needed to head back to Lima with having school in the morning. It was the last week of term before the Christmas break and everyone was looking forward to it.

Will and Puck packed up the car before heading back inside to say their goodbyes.

"We'll have to visit you soon," Naomi murmured to Shelby as they hugged tightly.

"I'm going to miss you, Rachie," Mia whispered to Rachel as they hugged too.

The mother and daughter swapped and Rachel hugged her aunt as Shelby hugged her best friend goodbye.

Will and Puck shook hands with the boys and Jack and accepted a hug off of Daisy before Rachel turned as was pulled into a hug by her grandparents.

"We'll see you soon," Daisy promised.

"You won't be able to miss us," Jack assured Rachel and kissed her on her forehead.

Shelby hugged her parents goodbye and kissed all of her nephews foreheads before picking up Beth and walking towards the door.

"I'll give you three rings when I'm home," Shelby said to her mom.

Daisy nodded before replying, "Make sure you do that."

The five of them went out to the car and Puck helped Rachel in as normal before taking Beth from Shelby's arms and buckling her in the back. Shelby slipped into the passenger seat and Will sat behind the wheel. With one last look back, they waved their family goodbye before setting off back to Lima.

"What do you mean by three rings?" Puck asked about half an hour into the journey.

"It means I'll dial my mom's number and let it ring three times and then hang up," Shelby replied.

"Won't she pick it up?" Will wondered.

"No, she waits until the fourth ring starts before she picks up. I once forgot that I was only meant to be letting it ring thrice," Shelby said and laughed at the memory. "We ended up talking for an hour."

oOoOo

Shelby and Will dropped Rachel and Puck off at the former's house and they quickly retired to bed after being greeted by Hiram and Leroy.

Will continued to drive until he reached their apartment. He lifted Beth out of the car and carried her up the stairs to the apartment. Shelby reach out her arms indicating that she'd put the sleeping infant into bed.

When that was done, she joined Will in the bedroom and slipped into the bed next to him.

"Is it later yet?" Will asked quietly as he wrapped his arm around Shelby.

"I guess so," she replied snuggling closer.

She then told Will what she'd told both Rachel and Scott this morning about Scott thinking he was Rachel's father, despite not being.

"I understand why he seemed angry then," he muttered. "I would have been the same if that happened to me."

"I know, but he realises that I didn't keep anything major from him. Rachel isn't his," she replied.

"Do you wish she was?" He asked.

"No," she replied honestly, "I'm glad nothing in my life connects me to Scott. Him breaking my heart was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Without that, I wouldn't have Rachel, Beth or you and I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now."

"I love you, Shelby," Will whispered and kissed her.

"I love you, too, Will, and I cannot wait to marry you."

_I am so sorry for not updating recently because I've been so busy with college and if I'm honest, I haven't been able to come up with any decent ideas so if you have any ideas that they can do over the Christmas holidays, it would really be a great help. Just drop me a PM or review with your idea. Thanks for all the reviews so far and I look forward to reading the more that you put. Talk to you soon, Emss._


	31. Chapter 31

Early the next Monday morning, Rachel and Puck woke up, to the sound of Rachel's annoying alarm, in each other's arms as usual. Rachel was the first to get out of bed. She stretched and walked into her bathroom and began her morning routine. Knowing he wasn't going to get the bathroom for a while, Puck rolled back over and went back to sleep.

His sleep was interrupted a few moments later when he heard the most beautiful voice singing Sweet Caroline coming from the bathroom. Shaking himself awake, Puck rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Without consciously realising it, he started singing along with his girlfriend with a perfect harmony. The song ended as giggles were heard. Rachel popped her head round the shower curtain to smile at her boyfriend.

"You going to join me or do I have to attempt to wash my own back?" She asked.

"I'm right behind you," Puck replied and hopped into the shower behind her.

oOoOo

Once the shower was over, the two teens headed back to Rachel's room and dried themselves off and got dressed. Rachel sat at her vanity and started doing her hair and makeup. Knowing that Rachel needed to concentrate with this task, Puck kissed her forehead and told her that he'd meet her downstairs.

For the first time ever, Puck was the first one into the kitchen and decided to make use of it. He walked over to the kettle and put it on and prepared himself a coffee. He then walked to the cupboard and got out a box of pop up waffles and put them into the toaster. While the waffles were heating up, he leant against the kitchen side and sipped his coffee.

Once the waffles were ready, he plated them up and coated them in chocolate sauce and dug in. He was half way through them when Leroy and Hiram walked into the kitchen hand in hand.

"Good morning," Puck greeted.

"Morning," Hiram replied. "Where's Rachel?"

"Still getting ready."

"Noah, are you stealing our pop up waffles again?" Leroy asked jokily as he spied Puck's plate.

"Of course not, Pop!" Puck replied despite having half of a waffle still on his plate in front of him.

The three laughed before the two Berry men began getting their own breakfast ready.

About ten minutes later, the three men were joined by the two girls of the house. Both were showing with their pregnancies but as Rachel was carrying two babies, she was obviously a fair bit bigger. Carly could still get away with wearing slightly larger clothes that hid her stomach which is what she opted for. With it being winter, both girls had donned jeans and boots. Carly was wearing a large muse t-shirt that looked like it was Finn's and Rachel was wearing her usual tank top and blazer.

Once in the kitchen, the two girls parted. Rachel went to the cupboard that contained the cereal and the cupboard next to it that contained their pregnancy medication. Carly went to the fridge for the milk and the cupboard containing the bowls. They both walked back to the kitchen table and sorted out their bowls of cereal before sitting down. It was as if it was rehearsed but one morning they just did it and had continued to do it.

"Have a good weekend?" Carly asked as Rachel poured herself a glass of soya milk and sorted out the medication between her and Carly.

"It was amazing. I love my mom's side of the family," Rachel replied and smiled.

"Yeah, Shelby's parents are great," Puck added as he sat down next to Rachel.

"I still don't think they're as good as my parents," Leroy murmured.

"Oh hush, Leroy," Hiram said to his husband shoving him slightly. "Your parents are a pain."

The teenagers laughed at Hiram's words especially when Leroy nodded and blushed. Hiram was right. Leroy's parents were a pain. His mother was fussy and his father still had a small grudge with the fact that their only son was gay. However, the thing that Leroy's parents loved the most was Rachel.

The conversation changed after and Rachel and Puck filled in their family on their weekend and before they knew it, it was time for the three teenagers to head to school.

Leroy and Hiram bid everyone goodbye before going up to their offices as they were working from home that day.

oOoOo

Once they were at school, Puck kissed Rachel sweetly before heading off to the football field to start the final practise before the holidays. The two girls headed to an empty classroom and got out all of their work. Due to being busy all weekend, Rachel hadn't completed her homework. She was using this hour before classes started to complete everything. Carly was there for two reasons: to help Rachel with some of her answers and for company. The two of them were sisters in every way but blood.

About twenty minutes into the time, Rachel's phone began to ring. She put down her pen and slipped her phone out from her pocket.

"Hola, Santana," she sang down the phone in greeting.

"Hola, Bonita, where are you?" Santana asked.

Rachel gave her location to her friend and hung up the phone. Not two minutes later and the Latina and her bubbly blonde girlfriend arrived. The walked straight over to the girls and they all hugged in greeting. Santana and Brittany then sat down next to them. After peering over Rachel's shoulder, Santana saw that she had yet to do her English and Spanish homework and with being the best friend she is, she took Rachel's Spanish sheet and started to complete it.

"San, what are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"What does it look like?" Santana replied jokily, "I'm doing your Spanish homework for you."

"I can see that but why?"

"Because you've got your English to do and it took me like half an hour and you only have half an hour to do it," Santana shrugged. "Your mom sure knows how to set hard homework."

"Thank you," Rachel said sincerely and then started her English work. Santana was right, the homework was a bitch. Not only did they have to analyse and compare three poems, they also had to write their own in one of the styles.

Obviously, it didn't take Santana long to complete Rachel's Spanish homework and as soon as she finished it, she started giving Rachel pointers with her English work and Rachel was grateful for it. Carly and Brittany talked about cheerleading while the other two worked. Rachel looked up from her work and saw the longing in Carly's eyes. Carly missed cheerleading more than anything and it hurt Rachel just seeing her sister look like that.

By the time the warning bell rang, Rachel and Santana had successfully finished Rachel's English homework and they girls packed their things away. Carly and Brittany headed to Biology and Santana and Rachel headed to English. On their way there, they bumped into Kurt and they started talking about their weekends. The girls were so engrossed into Kurt's tale of his and Blaine's story of their Saturday night in the gay bar, they didn't hear Shelby enter the classroom and begin the class.

"If your name is Rachel, Santana or Kurt, I would appreciate it if you would contribute to the lesson rather than discuss your weekends," Shelby said. Her right hand was on her hip and her eyebrow was raised.

"Sorry," the three of them murmured. They laughed slightly when Kurt whispered 'later' to them and then they started their work.

The lesson passed quickly and it was time for everyone to head to their next lesson.

"Rach, a second," Shelby called as Rachel and Santana started to walk out the class.

"What's up, Mom?" Rachel asked.

"My mom rang me this morning," Shelby began, "You've left your medication at her house."

"Oh, shit," Rachel murmured. "I have enough at home so they can throw it away if they want to."

"Or they can put it in a safe place for when you next visit them," Santana suggested.

"I suppose that would work," Shelby replied.

"That's why I'm the smart one in this friendship," the Latina joked.

The three of them laughed before Shelby bid them goodbye and the teenagers walked to their next lesson.

oOoOo

The rest of the day at school wasn't eventful for the students. It was only as they got to the glee rehearsal that they found out some annoying news.

"Regionals have been moved to the first week after out Christmas break," Shelby announced when she and Will had greeted everyone.

"What!?" The club cried.

"We're not going to have any chance to rehearse properly," Tina groaned.

"Who are we against?" Quinn asked.

"Tina, we have an idea," Will reassured her, "And Quinn, we're against the warblers and the shakers from Columbus High"

"Wait, Shelby, isn't Columbus High the school Tommy and Jamie go to?" Puck asked. Shelby nodded in reply knowing what Puck was going to say next. "They've joined their glee club so they'll be competing against us…"

"Who are Tommy and Jamie?" Sam asked what everyone was wondering.

"They're my cousins," Rachel replied, "Shelby's nephews."

"We need to ignore that fact for now," Will said, "and concentrate about how we're going to rehearse. I have an idea."

Will then went through the ideas that he and Shelby had come up with during the day. They had written permission from Figgins that the school would be open for most of the holidays apart from the main days like Christmas day and New Year's Day. However, the school wouldn't be open on a weekend. The next part of the idea was that the New Directions would go to Shelby and Will's apartment every Saturday for three hours for their rehearsal.

The group spent the rest of the rehearsal talking about song ideas for the solo, duet and group number.

oOoOo

The glee club rehearsal ended and just before everyone started to leave, Santana shouted to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, my parents gave given me permission to hold a party on Boxing Day and everyone's invited. Yes, there will be alcohol but if anyone is sick in my house, I will go all Lima Heights on your sorry asses," she announced.

Everyone cheered and thanked her before they left.

oOoOo

That evening, the four Berrys (Carly had finally changed her name after the adoption) were sat around the table eating the vegetable lasagne that Leroy had prepared. Puck was spending the night with his mother and sister as he'd been away all weekend. The four of them were discussing what had gone on during the day when Rachel had a thought.

"I don't want the solo for this competition," she admitted.

The other members of her family actually dropped their forks in surprised and sat there with their mouths open.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"Baby girl, that doesn't sound like you," Leroy replied. "Are you feeling alright?" He then leant forward and put the back of his hand against Rachel's forehead to check her temperature.

"Oh very funny, Dad," she muttered and she swatted his hand away. "I want the duet instead. I want to sing with Carly."

Carly actually beam at this. "That would be amazing," she replied.

"We'll have to go through a couple of songs tonight and just show everyone how good we are together. Once they hear us, they'll be begging us to do the duet," Rachel decided.

That was the end to that conversation. The two girls helped their fathers clear away the dishes and then ran upstairs and started looking through the vast variety of music that Rachel owned and started to narrow everything down. It took them over two hours to narrow the music down to three different songs. One song they would sing in front of everyone tomorrow in their glee practise and the other two were songs that they would suggest to perform for the actual competition.

When they eventually retired to bed, they both had millions of song lyrics swimming around their heads but they both fell asleep without much trouble.

oOoOo

The following morning was basically a repeat of the previous, except for the fact that Puck wasn't there. However, when the clock ticked eight o'clock, a honk from a horn was heard and Rachel rushed to the window to see Puck sat in his truck at the end of the drive. Rachel's smile grew and she went back to the kitchen.

"Noah's here," she said. "We'll see you when you're home."

Rachel and Carly hugged their fathers before grabbing their school bags that were by the front door and walked out of the door and down the drive to Puck's truck. Puck kissed Rachel after she'd jumped into the trunk and Carly got into the back and rolled her eyes at the couple in front of her.

If she was truthful, Carly was jealous of Rachel and Puck's relationship. She did love Finn and she was excited to have his baby, but she felt deep down that their relationship wasn't as solid as her sister's. It was as if something was missing. Perhaps it was because her relationship with Finn had started with far too many lies.

Carly's thoughts had overcome her and she didn't even realise that the truck had stopped and they had arrived at school.

"Carls, you okay, honey?" Rachel asked when she opened the door at Carly's side. She'd noticed that Carly hadn't got out of the truck with her and Puck.

Carly's head snapped up when she realised that Rachel was talking to her. "Yeah, I'm fine, Rae," she lied. "I'm going to go find Finn."

However, Carly didn't go to find Finn at all. She just walked to an empty classroom and sat down in the dark. She was sat there on her own for about twenty minutes when Sugar Motta walked past the room and saw the brunette sitting alone with tears flowing. Sugar walked into the classroom quietly and tiptoed to the girl sat at the back.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Carly replied.

"No you're not," Sugar stated and opened her arms. Within seconds, Carly leant into Sugar's embraced and told her everything that she was feeling and Sugar listened.

oOoOo

By the time the glee club came round, Carly was feeling better thanks to Sugar. The two struck up a friendship that day that they were going to cherish. Rachel looked up when Puck nudged her slightly. She understood why immediately. Carly usually walked in with Brittany and on the odd time, Mercedes but never Sugar. She ignored that though and raised her eyebrow in question to Carly who nodded in return.

When Shelby and Will walked in a few moments later, Rachel's hand shot up.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked.

"Carly and I were talking last night and we've decided that, if you allow us, we'd like to have the duet for Regionals," Rachel announced.

"Rach, you can't have the solo and the duet," Quinn said.

"I don't want the solo," Rachel muttered. "I want you to have it actually, Q. Carly and I have prepared something if you needed proof that we sound amazing."

Then at that moment, the band members started playing the intro of the song that Rachel and Carly had prepared the night before.

Rachel:  
White knuckles  
And sweaty palms from hanging on too tight

Carly:  
Clenched shut jaw  
I've got another headache again tonight

Rachel with Carly:  
Eyes on fire, eyes on fire,  
And the burn from all the tears  
I've been crying, I've been crying,  
I've been dying over you  
Tie a knot in the rope,  
Trying to hold, trying to hold  
But there's nothing to grab so I let go

Both:  
I think I finally had enough  
I think I maybe think too much  
I think this might be it for us  
Blow me one last kiss  
You think I'm just too serious  
I think you're full of it  
My head is spinning so  
Blow me one last kiss  
Just when it can't get worse,  
I've had a bad day  
You've had a bad day  
We've had a bad day  
I think that life's too short for this  
Want back my ignorance and bliss  
I think I've had enough of this  
Blow me one last kiss

Rachel with Carly:  
I won't miss  
All of the fighting that we always did,  
Take it in  
I mean what I say when I say there is nothing left

Carly with Rachel:  
No more sick whiskey-wish,  
No more battles for me  
You'll be calling a trick,  
Cause you'll no longer sleep  
I'll dress nice, I'll look good,  
I'll go dancing alone  
I will laugh, I'll get drunk,  
I'll take somebody home

Carly:  
I think I finally had enough

Carly with Rachel:  
I think I maybe think too much  
I think this might be it for us  
Blow me one last kiss  
You think I'm just too serious  
I think you're full of it  
My head is spinning so  
Blow me one last kiss

Both:  
Just when it can't get worse,  
I've had a bad day  
You've had a bad day  
We've had a bad day

Carly with Rachel:  
I think that life's too short for this  
Want back my ignorance and bliss  
I think I've had enough of this

Rachel:  
Blow me one last kiss

Carly:  
Na na na na (Rachel: Oh) da da da da

Rachel:  
Blow me one last kiss

Carly:  
Na na na na (Rachel: Woaah!) da da da da

Rachel:  
Blow me one last kiss

Carly with Rachel:  
I will do what I please,  
Anything that I want  
I will breathe, I will breathe  
I won't worry at all

Rachel with Carly:  
You will pay for your sins,  
You'll be sorry my dear  
All the lies, all the why's,

Rachel:  
Will be crystal clear (Carly: Oh!)

Carly:  
I think I finally had enough

Rachel:  
I think I maybe think too much

Carly:  
I think this might be it for us

Both:  
Blow me one last kiss

Carly:  
You think I'm just too serious

Rachel:  
I think you're full of it

Carly:  
My head is spinning so

Both:  
Blow me one last kiss

Rachel:  
Just when it can't get worse (Carly: Oh)  
I've had a bad day (Carly: Yeah)  
You've had a bad day (Carly: Oh)  
We've had a bad day

Both:  
I think that life's too short for this

Rachel:  
Want back my ignorance and bliss

Carly:  
I think I've had enough of this

Both:  
Blow me one last kiss

Rachel:  
Na na na na da da da da

Carly:  
Na na na na da da da da (Rachel: Oh)  
Na na na na da da da da

Both:  
Blow me one last kiss

Carly:  
Na na na na da da da da (Rachel: Oh)  
Na na na na da da da da (Rachel: Oh)  
Na na na na da da da da

Both:  
Blow me one last kiss

Rachel:  
Just when it can't get worse,

Both:  
I've had a bad day  
You've had a bad day  
We've had a bad day  
I think that life's too short for this  
Want back my ignorance and bliss  
I think I've had enough of this  
Blow me one last kiss

When they finished, the entire group stood up, apart from Artie, obviously, and cheered for the two.

"We have our duet," Will announced and hugged the two girls.

_Hi guys! I am so sorry that I haven't updated in like a month. You're probably tired of the college excuse but it's true. I'm off college now for Christmas and I'm back writing again. I should get a couple of chapters written and uploaded as I have tones of ideas at the moment. There will be a couple of theme for song ideas coming up too that I'm excited about. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas as I sure did. Merry Christmas everyone! Reviews would make a fabulous Christmas present too! Emss x_


	32. Chapter 32

The rest of the week contained rehearsal for the glee club with Shelby working closely with Rachel, Carly and Quinn with their solos. The group was yet to decide who would lead the vocals for the group number and what the song would be. Quinn had sat with Will and Shelby to discuss her solo and they had decided that they would go with Call Me by Blondie which Quinn had suggested for Sectionals. She had the option to sing alone on stage or have a few backup singers. As she knew she worked better when she had Brittany and Santana by her sides, she asked if they could be her backup singers. The other two cheerleaders had agreed immediately.

"Did you really think we'd let you do it without us?" Santana had joked.

Everyone seemed to have different ideas for what the group number should be like. Whether it should be all girls singing, to go with the solos or whether they should change it up and have boys singing instead. Should everyone dance in pairs or as a whole? An answer was only found towards the end of the final rehearsal before the holidays when Sam's phone started to ring. His ring tone was Fallout Boy playing Thnks Fr Th Mmrs.

"That's it!" Will cried and ran to the white board. He pulled his pen from his pocket and wrote the title on the board with four lines coming from it. At the end of each line he wrote a different name. The names were Sam, Puck, Finn and Blaine.

Will said nothing as he wrote on the board despite all the questioning looks coming from all the New Directions and even Shelby. He waited until Sam hung up the phone and re-entered the room.

"This is our group number," Will said. "Sam, Puck, Finn and Blaine with take the leads and everyone will dance in pairs. Brittany and Mike will do their dance during Rachel and Carly's duet."

Will stopped talking and wrote down 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' just underneath where he'd written 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs' with lines coming from that too. Carly and Rachel's names were written at the end of the lines along with Mike and Brittany.

"I don't want a full energy dance like last year's sectionals. I want more of a relaxed style with a story. Mike Brittany, do you think you can handle that?" Will asked.

"I've got ideas coming to me already," Mike replied and Brittany nodded.

"Perfect," Will said.

So with the set list finalised, the only thing to do now was practise with all that they had. They had two weeks to get everything perfected, which was actually more time than they usually gave themselves. That night, when everyone left, they all had confident smiles gracing their faces all except Shelby. She was so happy and proud that her fiancé was such a genius.

"I want to marry you," she said to him once everyone had left. She'd walked straight up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We're already getting married, darling," Will replied somewhat confused.

"I want to set a date and start planning everything," she admitted. She didn't let him replied as she pulled his face closer and sealed their lips together.

"Fine by me," Will murmured when finally they came up for air.

oOoOo

Rachel and Carly were sitting in Rachel's room later that evening when Rachel had an idea.

"I want a sleepover," she announced.

"When?" Carly asked.

"Tonight." Rachel then jumped off of her bed and walked downstairs to where her fathers were sitting in front of the TV.

Carly had no idea what went through Rachel's head at all but she shrugged and followed her sister downstairs.

"Can we have a sleepover?" Rachel asked her parents.

"Sure, when?" Hiram replied.

"Tonight."

"If your friends are free, they can come over," Leroy decided. "We'll even order pizza."

"Thank you!" Rachel squealed and hugged her dads.

"But no boys," Leroy added.

Rachel nodded before turning round and grabbing Carly's hand and dragged her back upstairs. "You text Sugar, Mercedes and Tina and I'll text Britt, Santana, Kurt and Quinn."

They girls whipped out their phones and sent the following texts: Sleep over at ours at seven with pizza and movies. Yes? When that was done, all they had to do was wait for the replies. Luckily they didn't have to wait very long as their phones started to ring loudly as all the replied came through.

Both girls grinned as all of their glee friends had answered with the same answers: Yes! The girls looked over at the clock on Rachel's bedside table and saw it was half past six. But they knew their friends and after five minutes the doorbell rang. Rachel and Carly went back downstairs in time for Leroy to open the door. Santana, Brittany and Quinn were stood there holding their bags. They stepped over the threshold and Carly and Rachel greeted their friends. Just as Leroy went to shut the door, he saw another car pull up and Sugar jumped out with her bags. Carly went to meet her friend by the door and dragged her over to where the others were standing.

Rachel, Santana and Quinn were yet to warm to Sugar properly even thought she'd been in glee club for a couple of months but Brittany threw her arms around the smaller girl. Santana smiled at her girlfriend's actions. She shrugged slightly and then joined the hug between Sugar and Brittany. Sugar smiled at Santana's behaviour. Quinn raised her eyebrow at Santana but the Latina just laughed lightly and said, "Why not?"

Rachel paused to think for a moment. There was going to be nine people sleeping tonight and her room wasn't big enough for everyone to sleep in it. It was also unfair for half to sleep in Carly's room.

"Dad, Daddy, can we all sleep down here tonight?" Rachel asked.

"I did wonder when you were going to ask," Leroy laughed in reply.

"We wondered if you'd figure out that you wouldn't fit in your room," Hiram continued.

"Of course you can sleep down here," Leroy finished.

"Thank you!" Rachel squealed and hugged her fathers.

Both Leroy and Hiram laughed at their daughter's antics. They were pulled out of their hug when the doorbell rang again. Instead of Leroy answering the door, Hiram did. He opened the door to reveal Kurt, Tina and Mercedes grinning madly.

"I thought we said no boys," Hiram said with mock anger.

"Oh, please, Mr Berry. I'm an honorary girl," Kurt said as he stepped over the threshold. The two girls rushed over to everyone else at the back of the room to dump their bags. "You should know that by now," Kurt added.

"Of course we knew that, Kurt," Hiram replied.

"Hello everyone," Leroy greeted. "If you tell Rachel and Carly what pizza you would like to order they will tell us and we shall order them. Pick whatever you want. It's on us."

"Thank you!" The girls and Kurt cried. They started talking about their different pizza toppings before they actually decided on what they wanted. It took about half an hour for them all to decide but eventually a decision was made. They ordered Rachel's vegan pizza with olives, onions and sweetcorn. They then ordered a range of different pizzas. There was a chilli pizza, a bbq chicken, ham and pineapple, which was a must have for Kurt. There was also a meet feast pizza, calzone pizza and a normal margarita pizza. Along with that, there was a normal garlic bread, a tomato garlic bread and a cheese garlic bread order.

"None of you will be kissed tomorrow with your stinky garlic breaths," Leroy laughed.

"Lucky us, San," Brittany said, "We'll stink together so we'll still be able have our sweet lady kisses!"

"Exactly," Santana replied and kissed Brittany as if to prove her point.

Rachel looked up at her dads and smiled slightly at them. Her dads understood what she was getting at.

"We'll go once the pizzas arrive," Hiram whispered in her ear.

Rachel nodded and quickly grabbed Santana and Quinn by the hands and dragged them upstairs.

"Rach, slow down," Quinn cried.

"Jesus, Rachie," Santana hissed when they reached Rachel's room.

Quinn and Santana started to massage their hands better as Rachel was stronger than she looked.

"What was that for?" Santana asked.

"I don't know which films to take downstairs. Help me pick?"

"Sure!" Quinn said and grinned. She walked over to Rachel's far wardrobe and opened the door and saw the stacks of films that lined the shelves. There were literally hundreds to pick from and Rachel had watched all of them at some point or another. Santana walked over to Quinn and they started discussing the pros and cons of each different movie that caught their eye.

"Can you get…" Rachel started.

"We're not watching Funny Girl, Rach," Santana said cutting Rachel off.

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"You sing everything and talk over every part and that's no fun," Quinn replied.

"Fine."

After about twenty minutes, the girls had picked out three different films. Due to it being the Christmas break, they picked The Holiday, staring Cameron Diaz, Jack Black and Kate Winslet, Mamma Mia and 17 Again so they could all fawn over how 'hot' Zac Efron is. Just as they made their way downstairs, the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of their pizzas.

Hiram answered the door to reveal someone everyone knew.

"Sam!" Mercedes cried and ran forward.

Leroy and Kurt rushed forward and helped Hiram carry the boxes of pizza into the kitchen while Mercedes kissed her man.

"Cedes, put him down!" Tina joked as she walked up to her. "No offence but it's girls night. Thanks for the pizzas and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye."

"See you girls," Sam replied, "And Kurt," he added when Kurt came back from the kitchen with the money to pay Sam.

The blonde gave Mercedes one last kiss before kissing her forehead and walked back to his car.

Leroy popped his head from the kitchen and said, "Come and eat girls….And Kurt!"

Everyone trooped into the kitchen and started eating the pizza. Leroy and Hiram grabbed theirs and escaped upstairs to their bedroom. Rachel and Carly shared a knowing look. The men wouldn't be down for the rest of the night. They just hoped they remained quiet.

oOoOo

After all of the pizza was eaten, the sleepover really got started. They put on 17 Again first and as Rachel, Santana and Quinn had predicted earlier, everyone started to discuss whether Zac Efron was fit or not. The only ones that didn't think he was were Rachel, Santana and Sugar.

"Sure we know why you don't think that, Santana but Rach, Sugar, what the hell?" Carly asked.

"He's just not my type," Sugar admitted. "Artie's my type, well now that his mother lets me pick out his clothes."

"Same with me," Rachel agreed nodding, "Except Artie's not my type; Noah is."

"Girl, you're crazy," Mercedes stated before looking back at the screen with her eyes fixed on Zac.

The night continued in that fashion and when 17 Again finished, Carly changed the DVD and put on Mamma Mia.

"What would you do if you found out you had three dads?" Tina asked no one in particular but Rachel answered.

"I practically have three dads," she laughed.

"So you consider Mr Schue as your dad?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah, actually," Rachel replied. "He's amazing for my mom and he's so good with Beth."

"I'll bet he'll be a great dad for when Shelby starts popping out their babies," Mercedes agreed.

Rachel said nothing to that and just smiled sadly. Shelby had in told her a while ago that she could no longer have children. As a few years after Rachel was born, Shelby had had a couple of problems which lead to surgery. The surgery went slightly wrong, meaning Shelby couldn't have any more children. No one but Santana noticed Rachel's change in facial expression.

Instead of making it obvious and just asked Rachel in front over everyone, Santana slipped out her phone to text Rachel who was sat across the room to her.

_Meet me in the kitchen._

Rachel nodded slightly before standing up. "I need a drink," she murmured.

"I'll come with you," Santana said and followed the smaller girl.

Once in the kitchen, neither girl said anything. Rachel went to the cupboard and grabbed two glasses. Santana picked up the bottle of lemonade and poured it out. Santana waited until Rachel was ready to say what had made her mood change. Luckily she didn't have to wait long because Rachel revealed it once she'd put the lemonade away.

"Shelby can't have any more children."

"Oh my gosh," Santana gasped. "I didn't realise."

Rachel nodded and told Santana what had happened.

"So that's why she adopted Beth!" Santana said as it dawned on her.

Rachel nodded again. "You can't tell anyone though. She doesn't want anyone to know. Only me, Noah and Quinn know and now you."

"Does Mr Schue know?" Santana asked after taking a drink of her lemonade.

"I don't know," Rachel admitted.

Santana was about to say something when Tina walked into the kitchen to get her own drink.

"You're missing the movie," Tina said. "Come on."

Tina grabbed onto Rachel's hand and Rachel grabbed Santana's and the two were dragged back into the living room. Santana sat back in her original seat next to Brittany and instead of sitting next to Carly like she had been, Rachel sat next in between Santana and Kurt. Sensing that something was wrong with his diva, Kurt wrapped his arm around her and held her tight. That was actually how they spent the rest of the night.


	33. Chapter 33

_Hey guys, you've probably realised that I've changed my username to emilyjasmine. Don't worry, it's still me :D. I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, I'm back at college so updates are going to be slower again. But let's not think of sad things, think of happy things :). With this said, let's get on with the story :)_

It was around three in the morning when everyone finally settled down to sleep. Rachel was sharing her sofa with Kurt and Carly was sharing hers with Sugar. The rest of the girls were scattered around the floor but Santana and Brittany were wrapped tightly together at the side of the sofa near Rachel.

When Leroy and Hiram walked downstairs the next morning, they couldn't help but laugh slightly at everyone. Rachel and Kurt were wrapped in each other's arms just like Santana and Brittany. Sugar and Carly were lying side by side. Mercedes, Quinn and Tina were all curled into odd shapes. The heavy breathing was loud and there were quiet snores coming from Mercedes. The two Berry men tiptoed into the kitchen and, as quietly as possible, they made their breakfast and ate it. Then Leroy and Hiram grabbed their coats and keys and left the house to go shopping.

It was about two hours later when Rachel was woken up by her phone vibrating in her pocket. She shifted slightly out of Kurt's tight embrace and answered her phone quietly.

"Hello?"

"Babe, where are you?" Puck asked down the phone.

"What do you mean?" She whispered.

"Everyone's meant to be at Shelby and Will's for rehearsal and none of the girls are here," Puck revealed.

"Oh shit," Rachel cried a little too loudly than she'd meant to. Everyone else started to stir. "The girls slept at mine last night. We'll be there in a few."

"Rach, why are you being so loud?" Santana asked as she woke up.

"We were meant to be at Shelby's like half an hour ago!"

The girls and Kurt quickly got up and dressed. Santana, Quinn, Rachel, Brittany and Mercedes took the Latina's car and the rest took Kurt's. With Rachel's directions they headed to Shelby's apartment and as none of them knew which one it was, Rachel led the way up.

Once they got to the door, Rachel knocked and not a second later, Shelby threw the door open.

"About time girls," she chastised. "Oh, and Kurt," she added when she saw him stood behind Quinn.

"Sorry, blame me," Rachel replied as she walked past her mother with the rest of them following.

"I was planning on," Shelby joked with her daughter.

As soon as everyone was settled in, Will and Shelby started the rehearsal. That morning, Will and Shelby had made space in one of the bedrooms and Will, Brittany and Mike were going to listen to the song and plan the dance moves in there. Finn, Puck, Sam and Blaine were going to be working together with Shelby to go over their vocals for the song. Tina, Mercedes and Kurt were designing the outfits for everyone with the help of Sugar who had her dad's permission to pay for everything. Artie and Joe were discussing the staging of the whole performance and Quinn, Rachel and Carly were going over their songs. Throughout the whole day, Quinn, Puck and Rachel took turns spending time with Beth so that she wasn't alone for too long.

There was a pause part way through the day when everyone had a break. Santana, Quinn, Brittany and Rachel all went to Beth's room to entertain her while they talked about random things. Just before the Latina entered the room, she winked at Puck. Puck nodded in return and went to find Shelby and Will. He needed to speak with them and make sure everything was ready. He also had something to ask them.

The rehearsal was hard and when everyone had finished for the day they were tired. But when they all came together to talk about it at the end, they all knew it was worth it. With the next day being Sunday, they all had the day off to spend with whomever they wanted.

Everyone left the apartment, most of the girls going with someone else with not having their own cars. The only two that stayed back were Rachel and Puck.

Will walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on to boil while Shelby began to make some sandwiches. Rachel was in Beth's bedroom playing with the little girl which left Puck standing on his own looking a bit silly. Half of him wanted to go and play with Beth with Rachel but the other half wanted to be useful. For once, the useful part of him won and he walked into the kitchen.

"Do you want any help, Shelby?" He asked.

"That would be lovely, Noah," Shelby replied and smiled warmly at him. "Could you go to the fridge and get out the cheese and salad."

Puck nodded and did what Shelby asked. A few moments later, Shelby left the kitchen but she was only absent for a few minutes. She returned later with Beth on her hip and Rachel following her.

"Rach, would you prefer a salad or a sandwich?" Shelby asked.

"I'll make a salad, if you don't mine," she replied.

"Not at all."

Once all the food and the drinks were ready, they carried them over to the table and started to eat. They spoke about different things for the majority of the meal. It was only until Will stood up to start clearing everything away did Shelby change the subject to her and Will.

"We've decided that we're going to get married after Regionals."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

Shelby nodded in reply. "I want you to be my maid of honour," She revealed.

"Oh my gosh," Rachel squealed. She then jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around her mother. "That would be amazing!" However, when Rachel pulled back and sat down again, she frowned and started to shake her head. "I can't be your maid of honour," she muttered quietly.

"Why ever not?" Will asked talking for the first time during the conversation.

"No one wants a fat maid of honour."

"Princess, you're not fat!" Puck cried. "You're pregnant."

"I don't care, it's all the same to me," Rachel murmured. "You should have Naomi or Amelia as your maid of honour. They look the part."

Rachel then stood up and left the kitchen. Puck went to follow but Shelby put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll go," she muttered.

Rachel hadn't gone far as she was just sat on the sofa. Her knees were pulled up as far as they could go and her body was shaking slightly. She was obviously crying.

Shelby wasted no time in crossing the room and taking a seat next to her daughter. She threw her arms around her and Rachel changed her position so that she could cry on her mother's shoulder.

"I don't want it to be anyone else," Shelby murmured as she stroked Rachel's hair gently. "I want it to be my beautiful daughter."

Rachel didn't reply to it. She just tried to concentrate on stopping her flow of tears. It took a fair bit of time, but eventually the tears ceased and Rachel sat up.

"Hormones," she whispered with a shaky laugh.

"Oh darling," Shelby said softly and stroked Rachel's hair out of her face. "Does that mean you'll do it?"

Rachel looked up and saw the hope in her mother's eyes and nodded. "I'd be honoured."

Shelby then wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly and they laughed together on the sofa just as Puck and Will walked into the room with Beth on the latter's hip.

"Women," Will murmured, knowing that they could go from being in floods of tears and one second later, they could be laughing. However, he knew that the laughter could turn to anger with only seconds, hence why he didn't speak very loudly. However, his fiancée has very sensitive ears.

"I heard that, darling," Shelby replied and looked up to see her fiancé blushing slightly. She raised her eyebrow in the very Shelby Corcoran way but then started to laugh.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Puck said to Rachel to change the subject.

Shelby then stood up and put a movie on and the five of them sat on the sofas to watch it. The two couples mirrored each other. Puck and Will were sitting normally with their arm around their girl. Rachel and Shelby were sitting with their head's on their partners shoulder. However, Beth was sat on Rachel's knee with Rachel stroking her hair.

When it started to get dark, Rachel looked up and saw that it was obviously getting late. She looked up and saw that Puck had fallen asleep during the film. She smiled at her boyfriend and leant up slightly to kiss him awake.

Puck started to stir and after a few moments, he stretched to really wake himself up.

"Morning, sleepy head," Rachel joked. She then looked round and saw that Shelby was asleep on Will's lap. "We'd better go," Rachel said to Will. "We'll see you on Monday."

Will nodded; there wasn't anything he could do. Normally he'd walked them to the door but he couldn't bear waking Shelby up. Unfortunately for Will though as when Rachel and Puck stood up, Shelby felt the sofa move and she began to stir.

"I hope you weren't going to go without saying goodbye to your momma," Shelby said sleepily.

"Of course not," Rachel lied.

"Don't lie to your mother," Shelby chided jokily. "I need to get something anyway so wait a second."

Shelby then stepped off the sofa and stretched before heading off to her and Will's bedroom. She came out a couple of minutes later carrying two presents and held them out to Rachel.

"Happy birthday for tomorrow, baby!" Shelby cried.

"Oh, Mom, you didn't have to," Rachel replied. She stepped forward and threw her arms around her mom and hugged her tight.

"Of course I did," Shelby said once Rachel pulled back. "This is your first birthday that I get to spend with you. I'm going to celebrate it."

"Thank you," Rachel muttered.

"One's from Shelby and the other is a shared present from all three of us," Will said. "Happy birthday, Rach." He then stepped forward and hugged Rachel too. He classed her as his daughter now and couldn't wait for it to be official.

Rachel and Puck then turned to leave but Will caught onto Puck's shoulder.

"Could you not tell anyone about the wedding? We want to tell everyone when we're back," Will requested.

Puck and Rachel agreed and with final hugs and kisses between Rachel and Shelby, they teens were finally able to leave.

oOoOo

Later on that night, Rachel was midway through her nightly ritual when her phone started to ring. Rachel sighed loudly; it always irritated her when someone interrupted her rituals, whether morning or evening. However, it was rude to ignore her phone so she quickly wiped her hands on a towel, walked back to her bedroom and looked at who was calling her.

_Amelia calling._

Rachel smiled brightly and picked up her phone.

"Hey, Auntie Mia!" Rachel sang down the phone.

"Hello, honey, how are you doing?" Amelia asked. Rachel needed nothing more and she spent the rest of the night on the phone. Part way through the phone call, Amelia passed the phone onto Naomi. It didn't really matter who was on the end of the phone as the other would pass a comment onto their niece.

True to her word, Rachel didn't tell her aunts about Shelby's wedding that, if she and Will have their way, will take place in only a matter of weeks. However, the three of them started to talk about everything else.

About two hours after the phone call had started, Rachel looked over at her clock and noticed that it was almost past midnight.

"As lovely as this phone call has been, I really need to go to sleep now," Rachel muttered and then yawned as if to prove her point.

"Goodnight, darling and we'll see you soon," Mia replied and hung up the phone.

Rachel then finished up with her nightly ritual and by the time she'd finished it was just past midnight.

"It's my birthday," she whispered to no one and just as she said that, her phone started to ding constantly. She looked over and saw that she had five new messages from: Puck, Santana, Quinn, Brittany and Kurt. Not two seconds later, there were footsteps coming from outside Rachel's room. "I'm awake, Carls," Rachel said quietly and then the door opened.

Carly was stood there with a large box in her hands and a sheepish grin gracing her features. "I was going to leave it outside your room for the morning," she admitted.

"I'm curious now," Rachel said jokingly. "Come on in."

Nodding giddily, Carly walked into her sister's bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. Carly then handed the box over to Rachel.

"Happy birthday, sis," Carly muttered and smiled.

Rachel then opened up the box and saw two rather large teddy bears. She pulled each one out in turn and saw that one was blue and one was pink.

"Aww, Carly," Rachel gasped, "They're adorable."

"Thanks," Carly replied happily, "even though technically they're for the twins. I saw them the other day when Tina and I went shopping and I was like 'Rach will love them!'"

"And you're right, I do."

Both girls then yawned loudly. They were extremely tired with going to bed late the previous night and getting up somewhat early that morning.

"Night, Rach," Carly said as she got off the bed carefully.

"Night, Carls."

oOoOo

The next morning came sooner than Rachel would have liked. Sure, it was her eighteenth birthday but she really wanted to sleep longer. She could feel the sun shining through her window so she attempted to roll over to avoid the sunlight. However, she didn't roll over to an empty side of the bed; there was someone sat there. Sighing loudly, she squinted and saw her favourite person sat on her bed next to her.

"Noah!" She cried forgetting that she wanted to go back to sleep.

"Happy birthday, Princess," Puck replied and smiled. He then leant down and kissed her sweetly. When they came back up for air a fair few minutes later, Puck whispered, "Your dads are waiting for you. They've cooked your breakfast."

Rachel couldn't help but smile at her fathers. They cooked her breakfast most weekends but they always went into so much more detail on her birthday. There were pancakes, waffles and a full breakfast with meat replacements.

"Better not keep them waiting then," Rachel said.

She climbed out of bed and slipped her feet into her slippers. Puck then picked up her dressing gown and helped her put it on. Once that was done, he took her hand and the two of them walked downstairs.

As soon as she got into the kitchen, the table was stacked full of presents. She wasn't expecting this at all. Carly was sat at the breakfast bar but Hiram and Leroy were stood by the door, waiting for Rachel to come downstairs.

"Dads, is this necessary?" She asked as she walked in. She didn't say it rudely, she just laughed slightly.

"Our daughter is no longer a baby," Hiram replied.

"Today she becomes a woman," Leroy continued as Hiram began to sob slightly.

"Oh, Dads," Rachel said and shook her head jokily at them before rushing forward and throwing her arms around them.

"Happy birthday, baby," they both murmured to her.

When the moment was over, Leroy pulled back and said, "What do you want to do first, breakfast or presents?"

Rachel pondered for a moment before deciding, "Breakfast. I'm starved."

oOoOo

Breakfast was the same as always and afterwards, the Berry men and Puck carried Rachel's presents into the living room.

"Have they always been like this?" Carly muttered to Rachel as they walked side by side into the living room.

"They've gotten better as I've gotten older," Rachel whispered in reply. "This is what your birthday is going to be like too."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at the worried look on her sister's face. Carly glared at Rachel before going to sit in between Leroy and Hiram on the sofa. As soon as she sat down, Hiram wrapped his arm around her.

"I believe you should open your cards first," Leroy said.

Rachel nodded and did just that. She opened her cards from her friends in the glee club and left her families and her best friends last. When she opened Quinn's card, a silver necklace dropped out. It was beautiful and on the pendant was a rose quartz crystal in the shape of a tear drop. A similar thing happened when she opened Santana's card but instead of a necklace falling out, it was a handmade friendship bracelet that contained music notes. She then opened her fathers' cards and followed by Carly's. Her eyes started to tear when she saw that Carly had given her a sister card.

The final card that she opened was actually her mother's card. There was no necklace or bracelet in this envelop. It just had two tickets. One was a plane ticket to New York and the other was a ticket to go see Wicked on Broadway.

"I can't believe she's done this!" Rachel gasped aloud.

"What?" Hiram asked.

Rachel said nothing but showed her father the tickets.

"That was generous," Leroy commented.

Rachel was in shock but she decided to open the rest of her presents. From her mother, she received a brand new dress. It was soft pink and strapless. It pulled in under the breast and flowed out. It was absolutely beautiful. The other present that was from Shelby, Will and Beth was a matching bag and inside it was a bracelet to finish off the outfit.

From Kurt, Rachel received a pair of the most beautiful earrings. They were small and clean cut but they were white gold with a pink diamond inside. Her fathers had bought her a mixture of new clothes and some clothes for the babies along with $100 to spend on whatever she wanted.

When Rachel had finished opening her presents, she realised that Puck hadn't gotten her anything and she was actually happy about that. She'd told everyone not to get her anything, he was the only one that had actually listened to her.

"As you've noticed, I haven't got you anything," Puck began. "My gift to you is going to start tonight. I'll pick you up at six o'clock and we're going out for dinner."

Before Rachel could say anything else, her phone started to ring as her grandmother was calling. Rachel couldn't ignore Daisy's call so she quickly accepted what Puck said and kissed him in thanks before answering the phone, "Hey Gran!"

Puck then murmured to Hiram and Leroy to join him in the kitchen while Rachel was distracted on the phone. If everything went the way Puck wanted, it would make him the happiest man in the world. He just prayed that Rachel would feel the same way.


	34. Chapter 34

Rachel spent the entire morning on the phone to her family members. Daisy was the first to ring her and after a while, she passed the phone on to Jack who wanted to wish his granddaughter a happy eighteenth. About an hour later, Leroy's parents, Oscar and Trudy, rang her to wish her a happy birthday. She then received a short phone call from Amelia and Naomi wishing her a happy birthday.

"We didn't forget yesterday," Naomi had said, "We just wanted to say in on your birthday!"

Rachel was actually surprised to see that her cousins, Brady, Tommy and Jamie had text her to say happy birthday as well. Throughout the day, she received many text messages from her friends wishing her a happy birthday.

In the afternoon, Carly and Rachel decided to go to the cinema to see the new film that had just come out. Rachel had suggested inviting Finn and Puck but Carly had refused saying she wanted to spend some time with her sister. This worried Rachel, usually Carly would be excited to spend more time with Finn, but now Rachel thought about it, she registered that Carly and Finn barely saw each other out of school.

Once the film was over and the two had gone back home, it was time for Rachel to start getting ready for her date with Puck. Carly was going to do her hair while Rachel did her makeup. She had yet to decide what she wanted to wear. Part of her wanted to wear her new outfit that her mother had bought her but she wanted to save it for when she went to New York shortly after Christmas.

Her decision was made when she got a phone call from her mom.

"Hello," Rachel greeted.

"Happy birthday, angel," Shelby sang down the phone.

"Thank you," Rachel replied, "And thank you for the dress, it's beautiful and I can't wait to wear it in New York!"

"Sure, you can wear it in New York but I want you to wear it tonight too," Shelby revealed. "I hope you have a fun birthday and an amazing evening tonight."

Shelby then hung up before Rachel could question her about how she knew that she was going out with Puck to night. Puck was planning something, Rachel decided. Not only had her mother bought her a new dress, but Kurt had bought her some new earrings that just so happened to match it. The necklace that Quinn had bought went with the outfit too. She just didn't know what Puck was planning so instead of dwelling on that, she decided to drill her sister on information with Finn.

Rachel was sat in front of her vanity as she picked out the makeup she was going to wear and Carly was stood behind her sectioning her hair ready for curling.

"I haven't seen you and Finn together recently," Rachel murmured.

"He's been busy at the tire shop," Carly replied shrugging.

"Really? Noah said that he hasn't seen him at work recently," Rachel said.

"That's what he said to me."

"Why are you lying to me, Carls?" Rachel asked. She put down her blusher brush and turned round to face her sister.

Carly sighed and put down the curling wand onto Rachel's vanity. She then pulled over the chair that Rachel had beside her bed and sat next to Rachel.

"I feel like we've fallen out of love," Carly admitted as tears started to form. "I've tried to ignore the fact that our relationship isn't as tight as yours and Puck's and tried to put my whole effort into the relationship, especially with the baby. But now I feel like Finn doesn't care. He ignores me out of school and is only with me when there are people around."

This was not what Rachel was expecting. On the outside, it looked like Carly and Finn were as happy as her and Puck but it appears all wasn't as it seemed.

"I'm sure you're just going through a rough stage," Rachel suggested and secretly hoped. "I bet it's just your hormones driving you a little crazy."

Carly sighed again and stood up. "I hope so," she said before leaning forward to pick up the curling wand again so she could continue to do Rachel's hair.

Rachel then changed the topic and they started talking about what was going to happen tonight. Carly, just like everyone else, knew what was happening tonight. The only one who had no clue was Rachel.

Just as the clock struck six o'clock, there was a familiar knock on the door.

"Rach!" Leroy called up the stairs.

Rachel released a deep breath and looked up to Carly. "You look beautiful, Rachel," she promised.

The two then walked downstairs carefully and as soon as Puck saw Rachel, he gasped in shock. He knew she was beautiful, but he'd never seen her look more stunning. Shelby had amazing fashion sense and, with the help of Kurt and Quinn, had picked out the most beautiful dress. Quinn and Kurt's accessories rounded it off perfectly. With being pregnant, Rachel chose to wear matching pink dolly shoes instead of the heels that she would have preferred to wear.

"Rachel, you're so beautiful!" Puck said in awe when Rachel stood before him.

Rachel blushed at the complement, "Thank you, Noah," she muttered in reply. "You look amazing yourself." Puck was wearing the same grey suit that he wore when they went out for their meal with Shelby and Will after their engagement. He had a pink tie that matched Rachel's dress too.

"Are you ready?" he asked holding his arm out for her to take.

Nodding slightly, Rachel took his arm and turned to say goodbye to her family. Instead she was met with flashes as her fathers and sister took many photos of the pair. Rachel laughed slightly and Puck led her out of the house.

"Have fun!" They heard Hiram shout before Rachel got to a new, black car she didn't recognise.

"Where's your truck?" She asked in confusion when she was seated in the car.

"As you know, I've been working extra shifts in the shop and I've been saving up for a while," Puck began as he started the ignition and began backing off the drive. "I sold the truck and my bike and with the money from working for the pools and for Burt, I've been able to get enough money for the car."

"It's beautiful," Rachel stated.

"I'm glad you like it."

They didn't speak for a while, the only sounds were of the engine and Rachel's soft humming along to the radio. Puck couldn't help but smile at the sound of Rachel's voice. It was truly beautiful.

Usually the two of them would be having a full blown conversation about something random but both were content with what was going on. Rachel was happy to be sitting with her boyfriend and singing along to the radio. Puck, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck but he hoped that it didn't show.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Rachel asked a few minutes later. She could always sense it when something was wrong with Puck, she was able to read him like a book, but tonight it looked like the book was in a different language.

"I'm fine," Puck assured her and glance at her quickly to smile.

Rachel didn't really believe him but she smiled back. "How much longer is it?"

"About five minutes," Puck replied.

The rest of the car journey passed quickly and before Rachel knew it, the car had pulled up in a parking space in front of a large restaurant that looked expensive. Puck got out of his side of the car quickly and opened the passenger door so Rachel could step out. Once she was out, Puck locked the car and took Rachel's hand. They entered the restaurant and Rachel couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful it looked.

"Good evening, have you booked a table?" A man stood by the door asked. He was dressed in a smart black suit fit with a waist coat and deep blue tie. His hair was gelled back and had the facial expression that someone would have if they had a bad smell under their nose.

"Yes, in the name Puckerman," Puck replied politely.

The man scanned the list in front of him and spotted the name. "Ah yes, follow me."

Rachel and Puck did just that and they were seated at a table in the back with only candles for light. As if the night couldn't get any more romantic. A few minutes later, a different man, who looked much nicer than the previous walked up to their table.

"Hello, my name is Gustavo and I'll be your waiter for this evening," he said in a thick Italian accent. "May I take your orders for drinks?"

"A large coke for me and the same but lemonade for my darling," Puck said without conferring with Rachel. Gustavo nodded and walked away.

"You know my drink order?" Rachel asked with a teasing glint to her eyes.

"It's obvious when it's all you drink," Puck replied smiling at her. "You really do look beautiful tonight," he repeated after a few moments of silence.

"Thank you. My mom picked out the dress," Rachel said not knowing that Puck had arranged it almost two weeks ago with Shelby.

The moment was interrupted when Gustavo returned with their drinks and menus. He told them the different offers available before leaving once more.

"There's so much to choose!" Rachel gasped as she looked through the entire menu. That wasn't something she usually said when she looked at a menu. Usually there was one option for a vegan but here there were two pages full.

"Pick anything you want," Puck told her. "It's your birthday. I want it to be special."

Rachel beamed at him and then continued to look down her menu. It took almost fifteen minutes just to choose her started but luckily for them, they had finally decided when Gustavo returned once more.

"Madam?" He asked with his pen ready to take down her request.

"I'll have the melon for the starter and for the main, I'll have the vegetable paella," she said.

"Sir?" Gustavo said looking toward Puck.

"Garlic mushrooms for starter and the steak, please," Puck requested.

"How would you like your steak?"

"Medium."

Gustavo quickly left to inform the chefs off their orders. Rachel couldn't believe that Puck had brought her to this restaurant. It was heavenly. The art work was beautiful and the soft music in the background really helped the romantic air that surrounded them. She had never even heard of this restaurant and had no idea where they were but she trusted Puck because she loved him.

About ten minutes of carless chatter later, their starters arrived looking incredibly delicious.

"It seems Carly and Finn are having a few problems," Rachel revealed as she began eating her melon.

"I don't really want to talk about them tonight," Puck said politely. "Tonight is about us."

Rachel laughed slightly. "Oh Noah, you are a romantic at heart aren't you?" She teased.

"Don't tell anyone. My reputation would be ruined," he replied smirking at his girlfriend.

For him, the night seemed to be going perfectly. The mood was relaxed and the atmosphere was calm. He hadn't heard of this restaurant until a few weeks ago. His mother had been taken out on a date here with her new boyfriend. He was extremely happy for her; Alec seemed like the one for his mom.

"I'm glad you don't think about your reputation anymore," Rachel said a few moments later when their starter plates had been removed by Gustavo.

"How so?"

"If you cared about your reputation still, we wouldn't be together," she revealed. "None of this would be happening."

"It's a good job I changed then isn't it? I mean people say they hate change but it's one of the best things that has happened to me," Puck replied. He could feel the moment arising, he just hoped that it would be ruined.

"What is the best thing that happened to you?" Rachel asked.

Puck knew this was the moment he'd been planning for a couple of weeks. He stood up out of his chair and pulled a box out of his pocket and then knelt on one knee in front of Rachel. Rachel then gasped as everything became clear.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Rachel," Puck began. "I never knew how my life would be but then everything happened between us and now I feel like I have a reason to be here. I'm here because I have someone to love more than anything and she's carrying my children right now. She's there for me no matter what I've done or what mood I'm in and somehow she loves me too." He then paused to swallow and look her in the eye. He saw the love she had for him and her eyes started to well up. "I know we're only eighteen and it doesn't have to happen straight away but I know who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Rachel Barbra Berry, I love you so much. I have permission from Hiram, Leroy, Shelby and Will. Rach, my beautiful Jewish princess, would you do me the most amazing honour and become my wife someday?" When he said that last part, he opened the box in his hand and presented her the white gold ring that had a pink crystal in the centre with two diamonds either side.

"Yes," Rachel whispered and openly started to cry.

Puck then took the ring out of the box before sliding it onto her finger and standing up to kiss her. Rachel threw her arms around his neck and kissed him fully.

oOoOo

The rest of the meal passed and before they both knew it, Rachel and Puck were tucked up in bed next to each other.

"I knew you were planning something," Rachel whispered before she fell asleep.

Puck laughed slightly at Rachel before he shuffled closer to her and joined her in sleeping with smiles gracing their faces.

_Please don't shout at me, I've been busy with exams but they're over so hopefully I'll be able to post more. I have so many ideas but it's trying to find the time to get them written down that's the problem. I know many of you won't like the idea of them getting married but that won't happen. For now, they're just getting engaged. I hope you all liked it and don't forget to review as they make me smile and make me want to continue to write. Talk soon, Emss._


	35. Chapter 35

Rachel woke up early the next morning and headed straight downstairs. Usually, she would get a shower or at least moisturise but this morning she wanted to pay Puck back for the wonderful night they shared the previous night. She started to get everything ready by boiling the kettle and getting the pop up waffles from the cupboard. She then got everything that she needed to make pancakes and then got to work. However, just before she started getting all the mixture together, she took of her precious ring and put it in her pocket for safe keeping as she didn't want to get it covered with flour.

Just as she was about to get all of the pancake and waffle toppings out of the fridge, her fathers walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, princess," Hiram greeted. He then swooped down and kissed Rachel on her forehead and Leroy wrapped his arms around her.

"Morning, Dads," she replied and then pulled herself out of Leroy's arms and continued with what she started.

"What's with all the effort?" Leroy asked as he looked round the kitchen.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I suppose it is," Leroy muttered. "I'm guessing you had a lovely night last night then?"

"I always have a lovely night when I'm with Noah," Rachel replied. She stood back from the kitchen side as her work was finally finished. She would begin cooking when Puck came downstairs.

"Where's the ring?" Hiram asked not being able to keep it in anymore.

Rachel wiped her hands on a tea towel before putting her hand in her pocked and taking out the ring. She slipped it back onto her finger before placing her hand into her father's outstretched palm.

"It's so beautiful," Hiram stated. "I'm surprised he went with white gold seeing as your usual is a golden star."

"I know, I thought the same, but this matches me better, I feel," Rachel replied and smiled brightly at her father.

Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs and not a minute later, Puck was stood in the kitchen. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said grinning proudly at the scene in front of him.

"Of course not," Leroy replied.

"I must say, Noah, I'm proud of your taste in rings," Hiram muttered. "Who helped you?"

"Shelby and Kurt actually," Puck admitted before walking over to Rachel and kissing her hello. He glanced at all of the preparations on the side. "Have you done all this for me?" He asked looking over at Rachel.

"It was the least I could do," Rachel murmured and then she ran towards Puck and threw her arms around him.

Carly joined them about half an hour later and she and Rachel fawned over the ring that Rachel had placed back on her finger before they got on with the day. Carly was going to Sugar's house and Rachel had plans with the unholy trinity. Puck, on the other hand, was going to the tyre shop to get in some more hours so he could have more money for when the babies were born. The car and the ring took a hefty amount from his wallet but it was all worth it to him.

oOoOo

Rachel and the unholy trinity had plans to go shopping for over a week so they could buy each their Christmas, or in Rachel's case, Hanukah, presents. It also gave Rachel a chance to by presents for Carly, her mom, Will, Beth, Kurt and her dad, Leroy. It also gave her a chance to by a present for her daddy, Hiram and Puck for Hanukah.

In her family wasn't the most religious but they went through the business of lighting the candles for Hanukah and they decorated the house with the Christmas tree. As Carly was spending Christmas with her this year, there were now two Christians and two Jews living in the house so this year the celebrations would be equal.

Rachel and the unholy trinity had originally decided to do a secret Santa, but with Brittany being Brittany, when she pulled out Santana's names, she squealed, "Oh my gosh, San, I'm gonna get you the best present ever." Santana had forgotten to remind her girlfriend that it was meant to be secret. Instead, Quinn suggested that they should go shopping to point out what they liked and then the other three girls would contribute towards it. Rachel wasn't too happy at first; she was planning on buying all her best friends presents anyway.

Santana picked her up just after eleven and drove to the mall with a quick detour to Quinn's house. Rachel sat on her left hand the entire ride and only spoke up once Santana had turned off the ignition.

"Guys, I have something to tell you, well show you…" she began and trailed off as she brought her hand up to show the other three girls the ring that was glistening on her finger.

"I cannot believe he had the nerve!" Santana said. "I mean, he told me the whole plan and it was fool proof but I can't believe he actually had the balls to do it."

"Oh wow!" Was all Brittany said.

"Aren't you two a bit young?" Quinn asked bringing the mood down completely.

"Quinn…."

"No, Rach, you're eighteen. It's too young for marriage," Quinn snapped.

"I love Noah and I don't want to be with anyone else," Rachel replied quickly. "And who says we're going to marry at eighteen. I don't want that either, that's why we're waiting until we're both ready."

"Oh, thank God," Quinn said with relief. "Then I'm sorry and let's get going!"

Santana and Brittany took one last look at Rachel's ring before the four of them hopped out the car and hit the shops.

The beginning of the shopping trip was a little slow as there were far too many people squeezed into the mall but eventually they got into the zone and spent at least three hours shopping and managed to get the presents that they wanted.

Just as they were leaving, Rachel's phone rang.

"Hold on a second, guys," she called to her friends who were heading back to Santana's car. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket as saw that her mom was ringing her. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"Hey sweetie, do you fancy coming over to mine this afternoon?" Shelby asked. "I want to discuss New York with you."

"I can come over now if you want," Rachel replied.

"Perfect," Shelby said and the hung up the phone.

Rachel then got into the back of the car with Quinn and asked Brittany to turn the radio down. "San, can you drop me off at my mom's instead please?"

"Sure thing, chica," Santana replied and then started to drive.

Once the car started moving, Rachel clung on for dear life. She trusted Santana with her life when it came to secrets but not when it came to driving; she drove like a maniac. But with Santana's crazy driving, Rachel got to Shelby's apartment in record time.

"I'll see you later," Rachel called as she got out the car.

"Still coming to my party?" Santana asked.

"I'll be there."

Rachel shut the door and grabbed her many bags from the boot of the car before heading up the many stairs to her mother's front door. With her hand's being full, she had to kick the door slightly instead of knocking. There was barely a pause for Rachel to take a breath when the door was opened to reveal her mother.

"Do you just stand behind the door when you're expecting me?" Rachel joked as she walked over the threshold.

"She may as well do," Will replied for Shelby as he walked up behind her. "Let me help you with them," He added when he saw Rachel's many bags.

"Been shopping with the girls?" Shelby asked as she walked with Rachel into the kitchen to put on the kettle.

"Yes, and don't go peaking," Rachel replied, "Will, I'm being serious. Get your nose out!" She added when she saw him about to look into one of the bags.

Will quickly backed away from the bags and headed into the living room, leaving the mother and daughter alone in the kitchen. Shelby made them both a drink and they sat around the kitchen table and started to discuss New York which was going to happen the week after Christmas.

They talked about New York for a couple of hours and Rachel thought that she was going to be off the hook with the engagement. However, she was proved wrong when she absentmindedly rubbed under her eye with her left hand.

"That ring definitely suits you, I must admit," Shelby said.

Rachel grinned. "I still can't believe he asked me. Though, I don't want to get married yet, I'm far too young."

Just as Rachel said that, Will walked into the room with Beth on his hip. "I can't believe he asked me for my permission," he revealed.

"You're like a dad to me now, Will," Rachel admitted, "It was only right."

Will beamed at Rachel proudly. He sat Beth down on the sofa next to Shelby and then leant over to hug Rachel. "You're a daughter to me too, Rach."

oOoOo

Later that night, Puck arrived to take Rachel home since she didn't have her car with her. There was also the fact that she couldn't really fit behind the wheel any more. Puck helped her carry her bags inside and helped her put all the clothes away.

"How many things have you bought for the kids?" He said as he put away the fourth bag full of more baby clothes.

"I don't really know but I just see things and think 'oh that'll look adorable' and then I buy it," Rachel replied.

Puck shook his head in amusement and carried on putting the clothes away. When everything was where it should be, Puck took Rachel's hands and led her downstairs to join her fathers and Carly for a night of movies.

Part way through the second movie, Rachel got a phone call. She looked down and saw that it was her gran. Rachel stood up and excused herself from her family members and headed into the kitchen.

"Hey, Gran," she said as she answered the phone.

"Hello, darling," Daisy replied, "A little birdy has told me that you're engaged to be married."

Rachel didn't like the tone that her grandma was using. It was very disapproving.

"Yeah, I am. Noah surprised me for my birthday yesterday."

"Don't you think you're a little young sweetie?" Daisy asked gently.

"I know, but I don't plan on getting married any time soon. He just wanted to let everyone know that I'm his and only his. I don't want to be with anyone else but Noah, Gran. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Daisy sighed and paused for a moment before replying. "Yes, you're right. I knew once I met your grandfather that I didn't want to be with anyone else despite his annoyances sometimes."

Rachel giggled slightly at her gran. "Does this mean I'm off the hook?"

"For now," Daisy laughed, "Oh, before I go, I just wanted to know if you were aware that your glee club is competing against Tommy and Jamie's."

"I'm aware," Rachel replied. "Could you tell the twins not to get too upset when we beat them at Regionals?"

"That confident are you?"

"Oh please, Gran. We've won every competition apart from two and that was because we were against Vocal Adrenalin, who is amazing thanks to my mother."

"Very well," Daisy said. "Naomi, Amelia, Jack and I will be there to support you all."

"Thanks, Gran but I have to go," Rachel said as she saw Puck waving at her to go back into the lounge.

"Bye, Rachel darling."

"Bye," Rachel replied and hung up her phone before sliding it back into her pocket. Once she was back into the lounge, she sat next to Puck and snuggled into his side as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

Carly was sat in between her fathers with both of them having an arm wrapped around her. Her attention wasn't on the film though; it was on Rachel and Puck. She hadn't seen Finn outside of school in such a long time and it hurt. He never made any time for her anymore. All he did was play football in hopes that Beiste would give him captain back despite the fact that the football team was winning now Puck was the captain. If Carly had it her way right now, she'd end it with him but she couldn't not with the baby.

"I'll be right back," Carly murmured as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she went.

Once in the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of water and dialled Finn's number.

"Hello?" He finally answered just before the rings died out.

"Hey, Finn, how are you?" Carly asked.

"I'm not so good if I'm honest," he replied after a short pause. This was new to Carly. "You see, I miss my girlfriend and I don't know what to do about it."

"Why don't you take her out on a date sometime soon?" Carly suggested smiling at how it was going.

"I'll pick you at seven tomorrow," Finn replied and then hung up.

Now that annoyed Carly. Finn was definitely up to something now with the blunt end to their conversation. Just as she thought it was getting better. Carly sighed before slipping her phone back into her pocket and returning to the lounge with her glass of water in her hand.

oOoOo

Carly told Rachel about her date with Finn early the next morning and she agreed to help her sister get ready for her date as Carly had done that the last few times Rachel had gone out with Puck.

Finn arrived at seven on the dot and knocked on the door which Hiram opened.

"Good evening, Finn," he greeted.

"Good evening, Mr Berry," Finn replied and stepped over the threshold with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a box of chocolates in the other.

"Carls!" Leroy shouted up the stairs and not two seconds later, Carly was making her way down the stairs in a beautiful pale green dress.

"Carly, my darling, you're beautiful!" Finn gasped as she walked up to him.

"I'm glad you think so," she replied.

After a few pictures that Leroy demanded, the two made their way out the house and into Finn's car. They drove in near silence but it was comfortable as they sang along to the radio in perfect harmony. They drove for a fair while too, meaning that Finn wasn't taking her to Breadstix.

"I'm sorry for the blunt end to our phone call yesterday," Finn murmured after half an hour of their car journey. "I just had an amazing idea and I needed to start planning it."

"It's okay," Carly replied and smiled at her boyfriend.

Finn then looked over to Carly and smiled at her brightly but then something neither of them expected happened. One moment there was nothing and the next, a huge truck was flying towards them and hit the side of the car. Finn's car skidded and both of them blacked out.

oOoOo

Leroy and Hiram Berry were sat in front of the television watching old Doctor Who episodes when the phone began to ring. With Leroy being closest, he lifted up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is this one of the Mr Berrys?" Someone asked at the other end of the phone.

"Yes, it's Leroy Berry. How can I help you?"

"Your daughter, Carly, has been involved in a car accident. It is vital that you come to the hospital as soon as possible. It's not looking positive."

Leroy's face drained of colour before replying, "We'll be right there." He then hung up the phone and turned to his husband. "Carly's been involved in a car accident. Get Rachel and Noah, we're going to the hospital!"

oOoOo

The three Berry's and Puck got the hospital in record time and were met by Burt, Carole, Kurt and Blaine. Carole's eyes were puffy and red and Burt was trying to calm her down. Blaine looked like he was trying to do the same to Kurt whose eyes were also slightly red. Rachel ran straight over to Kurt as they were both in the same positions.

After a few moments, a doctor came over to them.

"They're both still unconscious," the doctor revealed, "but we've been able to run some tests and there are some things we need to tell you. The good news is that they're both going to be okay, however," the doctor then paused and took a breath before revealing the thing they were all hoping wouldn't happen. "Carly has lost her baby."


	36. Chapter 36

Fortunately Carly and Finn were out of hospital by Christmas Day but neither was in the mood to spend the holiday time with either of their families. Instead, Finn stayed at the Berry residence and the two teens stayed in Carly's room together. No one knew what was going on because they rarely came out of the room to talk. However, when they did, they had exhausted facial expressions and Carly's eyes seemed to always be puffy. Neither had spoken to their family about the loss of the baby and no one dared to ask them about it.

The other Berrys didn't know what to do at all, Rachel especially. She didn't want to check on Carly because she was still pregnant and Carly wasn't. She had spent a few nights crying into Puck's embrace because of how guilty she felt to her sister. Nothing seemed to be going well at the moment. Rachel had New York to look forward to with her mother but she didn't know if she could feel the same about it anymore.

The rest of the glee club had been over and left gifts and offered their support to everyone. Santana had even called off her party due to the sadness they were feeling. Surprisingly, the only person who Carly would let into her room, apart from Finn of course, was Sugar. However, Sugar was sworn to secrecy and never revealed what she and Carly spoke about. Kurt had been allowed in at the beginning for Finn's sake as he wanted his brother there but Kurt couldn't cope with the sadness knowing that he couldn't do anything to help.

A week after Christmas, Rachel had just finished packing her bag for New York. Well, it was more Puck doing the packing and Rachel telling him what to put into each bag. He'd just zipped it up when Rachel's phone began to ring.

"Hey, Rach," Shelby greeted, "I was just calling to make sure that New York was still going ahead."

"Do you really think I would say 'no'?" Rachel asked in reply. She continued when her mother didn't reply straight away. "I know with everything that's happened, it's stressful but there is nothing I can do. Carly doesn't want to see me so I think me getting out of the state for a couple of days will do her some good."

Rachel and Puck had gone to the latter's house for a couple of days after Finn and Carly had been released from hospital. Rachel had even met Edith's new boyfriend, Alec and she agreed with Puck; he was perfect for Edith. But unlike Rachel's family, Edith was very religious about Hanukah and Rachel couldn't really deal with it.

"If you're sure, I'll pick you up in the morning at seven ready for our half eleven flight," Shelby replied groaning on the inside. Raising a toddler and early mornings weren't her favourite combination.

"I'll be waiting for you," Rachel assured her before handing up the phone.

As soon as Rachel put the phone down, Puck wrapped his arms around her tightly whispering, "I'm going to miss you while you're away," into her ear.

Rachel turned round in his arms so she could rest her forehead against his chest. "I'm going to miss you too," she replied before reaching up to kiss him sweetly. "I'll be right back," she murmured as she pulled away.

She stepped out of her bedroom and headed downstairs to inform her dads about the morning's plans but she stopped when she saw Carly walking out of the kitchen and her dads were nowhere to be seen.

"Dad and Daddy have gone to the store for a few things," Carly muttered quietly. "There's a note in the kitchen."

Rachel nodded and swallowed, "I'm so sorry, Carls," she whispered.

"Don't Rach; it's no one's fault."

"I feel terrible though."

"Doesn't everyone?" Carly asked rhetorically. "All I've heard for the last week is, 'I'm so sorry' or 'I wish there was something I could do'. There is nothing to do because I've lost my son."

At this Carly openly broke down into tears and Rachel wasted no time in crossing the room and wrapping her arms tightly around her sister.

"Then I won't say that," Rachel murmured, "just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

"I want you to leave me alone and not talk to me. Okay?"

Rachel pulled back like she'd been electrocuted. She hadn't heard someone say something to her with that much venom since her sophomore years and Quinn was warning her to stay away from Finn.

Without thinking properly, Rachel blurted, "Why don't you just go back to your real parents now? They'll take you back now you're not pregnant!" Rachel then ran off before she could face the consequences of her words.

oOoOo

Rachel had spent the night sobbing in Puck's arms and had told him what she had said. He didn't say anything though, knowing that whatever he said would make her feel worse. Instead, he just whispered how much he loved her and how much he was going to miss her when she left the next morning.

It had been a rough night's sleep for Rachel as every time she shut her eyes, Carly's venomous words echoed in her head and her retaliation followed. When she finally drifted off to sleep, it was around four in the morning so when her alarm went off at six, she was not prepared and rolled back over after shutting it off. It wasn't until she got a phone call from Puck at six ten to seven that she woke up again. Puck had left the night before as his mother was unable to pick his sister up from a party that she'd attended. It killed him to leave Rachel in this state but there was no one else to pick up Sarah.

"Hello?" Rachel muttered sleepily down the phone.

"Hey, baby," Puck replied. "I was just ringing to say that I will miss you while you're away and that I hope you have an amazing time while you're in New York."

As soon as Puck said that, Rachel shot up and glanced at her clock. "Oh, shit!" She cried. "I was meant to get up almost an hour ago. My mom's gonna kill me!"

"Well you'd better get ready then," he replied jokily to try and get her less stressed.

"You're right. I have to go, I'll ring you when we've landed so you know we're safe," Rachel promised before hanging up.

For the second time during the holiday, Rachel completely scrapped her morning ritual but fortunately for her, seeing as she was flying, she didn't need to doll herself up. With that reason, she threw her hair up into a messy topknot and threw on sweats and warm boots and jacket. She was planning on changing on the plane anyway. Puck had carried her bag downstairs for her so all she needed to do was grab some last minute things and head down stairs.

Just as her foot landed on the last step, there was a slight knock on the front door signally Shelby's arrival. Rachel crossed over to the front door, grabbed the key from next to the door and opened it to reveal her mother.

"Morning sweetie," Shelby greeted, "You all ready?"

Rachel said nothing but nodded slightly and turned to pick up her bag. Still saying nothing, Rachel walked out of the house and locked it using the spare key under the mat and started walking down the drive towards her mother's car. Shelby paused for a second in confusion. She had presumed that Rachel would be excited about the trip, just as she was, but obviously something else was bothering her and it couldn't just be Carly losing her baby.

Shaking her head slightly, Shelby started walking down to her car and took Rachel's bag from her as Rachel jumped into the front seat. Shelby climbed into the front and started the ignition before driving toward the airport.

Half way through the drive and Rachel still hadn't said anything and Shelby was starting to worry.

"Rach, darling, what's the matter?" Shelby asked gently.

It took a few moments before Rachel replied, "I said something awful to Carly last night and I don't know what to do to make it right."

"What happened?"

Rachel paused slightly before blurting out the whole thing to her mom. The usually calm Rachel couldn't handle it and just let it rip telling her mom the situation.

Shelby sighed before replying. "You're right, that is awful but what she said to you wasn't exactly nice either…"

"Exactly, so…" Shelby cut of Rachel.

"I hadn't finished. There wasn't a need to lash out on her either, especially when something that horrible and life changed happened to her," Shelby finished.

"I know," Rachel whispered. "I'm the worst sister in the world."

"I'm sure Beth wouldn't say that," Shelby replied gently, knowing Beth thought the world of Rachel. "It's probably best that you're not near her for a while then. She'll realise what she said was awful and hopefully, by the time you're back, she'll have sorted a couple of things out and won't be so angry."

"I hope so."

After that, the two had a lighter conversation saying about what they were going to do in New York and the highest on Rachel's list, was shopping. Since becoming the best of friends with the unholy trinity, her thirst for shopping had come out and it was all she wanted to do. There was also the fact that she wanted to by a couple more things for the babies but as she thought about that, she instantly regretted it. What if something happened to her and something happened to the babies? What if she'd spent so much time and money planning for their arrival and after a sudden mistake they just went? Shaking her head rapidly, Rachel got rid of the thought knowing that wasn't something she should be thinking about. Instead, she started to think about New York and how amazing it was. That passed the time until they were at the airport.

oOoOo

The flight wasn't that bothersome for Rachel, she'd flown to many places and found the experience quite relaxing but as she promised, as soon as they landed, she rang Puck to tell him that they were safe. After that, she put her phone in her pocket and let her weekend in New York truly begin.

After dumping all of their bags in their hotel room, they left immediately and hit the shops but as they were walking down the street, Rachel saw the university of her dreams.

"There it is!" She gasped pointing at it.

"What?" Shelby asked.

"NYADA!" Rachel replied as if it was obvious. "I want to go there so badly."

"Then you will," Shelby said, "They only take the best of the best so you'll get in straight away."

"I don't know though, will they take in a mother of two babies?"

"They're judging your talent not your livelihood. You said that you were going to take a year out of your education for the kids, then you're free to do what you like with your education and look after them. They'll be able to help with your timetable and everything," Shelby told her.

"How do you know so much?" Rachel asked.

"This is where I wanted to go," Shelby admitted, "but I couldn't afford it. I just did a lot of research when I was your age."

"Let's go back to shopping," Rachel decided. She grabbed her mother's hand and they started walking again.

It was at that moment that Rachel decided that she was going to get into that school, not just for her sake but for her mother as well. It was also at that moment that Shelby started forming a plan but she didn't want to let Rachel know what it was so she kept talking about all the different shops that they could go to.

They decided to look in wedding shops too to see if they see any inspiration for Shelby's dress and Rachel's maid of honour dress. They didn't buy anything but they got many ideas for it.

A couple of hours later saw them going back to their hotel to freshen up for the theatre that night.

Both Rachel and Shelby were ecstatic for this. Not only was it their favourite musical, but they were going to be seeing a musical in their favourite city for the first time together. Even the many people walking along the streets of New York could feel the excitement that fizzed between the two women. Neither could stop going on about how excited they were being together at that moment but as soon as the lights dimmed and the voice indicating no phones or flash photography began, their voices immediately stopped and their gaze snapped from each other and to the stage.

They headed back to their hotel after the performance with huge smiles still gracing their faces.

"I'm so happy right now," Rachel admitted.

"I am too," Shelby replied, "I can't wait to see you up there some day."

"As Elphaba, right?" Rachel asked.

"Who else?" Shelby joked in reply. She knew every character was amazing but none were as amazing as Elphaba who was a character that was extremely close to her heart.

"I'm gonna go call Noah before I go to bed," Rachel said.

"Okay, sweetie."

Rachel smiled at her mother before crossing to the other side of the room where her room was and started to dial Puck's number. After the first ring, Puck answered and after a quick hello, neither needed anything and they started blabbing the night away. Similarly, Shelby was in her room on the phone to Will doing exactly the same.

oOoOo

In the morning, they two went for breakfast before sorting all their things out in the room before checking out of the hotel and heading to the airport to fly back to Lima. As excited as they were to be in New York, they were glad that they were going home to their fiancés. However, Rachel was nervous to see how she and Carly were going to react to each other. Neither had contacted the other during Rachel's trip so Rachel didn't know what to expect when she arrived home.

Shelby dropped her off at her house and helped her carry her things in before she gave her a quick, but tight, hug and going home to see Will and Beth. Rachel held her breathe as she stepped into her house but before she could even look around the room, there were two sets of strong arms wrapped tightly around her and Rachel felt immediately at home in her fathers' embrace.

"Welcome back, darling!" Hiram cried when he and Leroy finally pulled away. Leroy went to collect Rachel's bags and take them upstairs as Hiram took her arm and led her into the kitchen.

"Daddy?" Rachel asked nervously.

"I'm going to ask you something, we both know what it is, but I want you to answer me honestly. Okay?" Hiram began and continued when Rachel nodded her head. "Why did you say that to your sister?"

"I don't know," Rachel replied. "I was angry that she'd been avoiding me and when she told me that she didn't want to see me, something inside just switched and I lost it." Rachel's eyes then started tearing up and she tried hard to fight them but it was to no avail as the tears started falling.

"Thank you for being honest with me," Hiram said gently. "Now, I think you should go see your sister."

"I know I should but I don't think she'll want to see me," Rachel admitted. "I'd prefer for her to see me so that I know she's comfortable."

Hiram paused to think about it before realising that Rachel was completely right. He nodded his agreement and when Leroy came in, he asked her about New York with her mother and Rachel immediately started to tell him everything that they did. She knew she wasn't off the hook for yelling at her sister, but she knew that her fathers knew that she didn't do it in spite. All she had to do was wait until Carly was ready to talk to her.

It came sooner that Rachel believed it would actually. She was in her bedroom starting to put away all of the clothes that she'd bought in New York. Usually she would have gotten Puck to do it, but he was working till late and wasn't able to get there that night. Rachel wasn't too thrilled about that, but she knew that he'd be over bright and early the next day and she couldn't wait.

It was just as she was hanging up a new dress that she'd bought that she heard Carly's voice from the door.

"You'll look beautiful in that," she murmured.

Rachel's head shot round and she saw her sister. Her stomach was almost completely back to how it was before she was pregnant but her arm was still in its cast as she'd broken it during the crash. Fortunately though, it was due to come off two days before their performance at Regionals.

"Thanks," Rachel replied. "Do you want to come in?" She asked nervously.

Carly seemed torn for a moment but then decided to take Rachel's offer and walked into her sister's bedroom. She was silent for a moment but she was the first to say anything.

"I want to say sorry for lashing out at you the other day…"

"It should be me saying sorry," Rachel said cutting Carly off. "What I said was completely horrid and there's nothing I want less than you to leave!"

"I know, but I shouldn't have said that to you. The truth was is that that I need my sister to give me strength right now but I didn't want it at the same time. Do you understand where I'm coming from?" Carly asked.

"Not really but I'm here and I'll never leave if you don't want me to," Rachel replied and crossed the room as she said it. She went to take her sister's hand but Carly moved her hand and threw her arms around Rachel instead.

"I don't want you to go anywhere," Carly admitted. "I missed you so much while you were in New York! You must tell me about it!"

With that said, Rachel started the story that she'd told her fathers about here exciting time in New York and while she said it, she saw the old light in Carly's eyes and she knew that they were going to be okay. They were sisters, they had their arguments but they knew that they were always going to love each other.

_Hi again! I have a little time off from college so I should have a couple of updates during this next week but I am seeing my sister for a couple of days so there might not be as many as you want. After the regionals sections, I'm going to jump a couple of months so that this story doesn't end up being extremely long, even though I love writing it. As always, I hope you enjoyed this and I hope that you'll review as they make me happy. Thank you! Emss x_


	37. Chapter 37

Before anyone realised it, it was time for school to start and for the New Directions, this meant that it was time for Regionals. They had prepared everything and had the best costumes that they had had before. Some was down to Kurt and Mercedes' amazing ideas but for the first time ever, they had the financial backing from Sugar's father. Carly and Finn were still grieving for their unborn son but with the help of their friends and their family, they were starting to get better.

The first week back was exciting for everyone and everyone arrived early on the first day and headed straight to the choir room. Carly rushed straight over to Sugar and they started talking rapidly while Rachel went straight to the unholy trinity and started talk to them. Realised he'd been ditched, Puck headed over to Sam and Mike and started talking about the upcoming football game now that the season was back.

After a few minutes of the many separate conversations, Santana, being a loud mouth and as she enjoyed embarrassing her best friends, called everyone to order.

"We're all extremely sorry about your loss, Carly and Finn but it's time that we help you put that to the past and celebrate winning Regionals this weekend and say congratulations to two of our team members," she called.

Rachel knew exactly what Santana was going to say pulled on the Latina's arm but Santana merely grinned at her best friend before continuing what she had planned.

"Puck has finally found some balls and has asked Rachel to marry him and she's said yes!"

There were many cheers and congratulations echoed around the room and Tina rushed over to Rachel to get a look at her ring. The only person in the room that seemed annoyed with it was Mercedes. She walked away from where all the girls were gathered around Rachel and over to Sam. She grasped her boyfriend's hand and laced her fingers between his and pulled on it slightly. Sam looked away from Mike and the rest of the boys and followed her out of the room.

"Cedes, baby, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Puck," she replied. "I'm supposed to be his best friend and he didn't tell me that he was gonna ask Rachel to marry him. During the whole Christmas holidays I've not seen him once. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy for him because he's finally got the girl but I miss my best friend." Mercedes lost her composure at the end and the tears that had formed in her eyes started to slip down her face.

"Oh, baby," Sam whispered. He dropped her hand before throwing his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Without a pause, her arms were around his neck and she was sobbing slightly into his shoulder. "I'll talk to him," he promised. "He needs a talking to because no one upsets my girl."

Mercedes then pulled back from Sam and gave him a teary smile. He then leant down slightly and kissed her sweetly before pulled away from the hug and reclaiming her hand. The two then walked back into the choir room unnoticed except for one. Puck saw how upset Mercedes had looked when she left the room and knew instantly that it was his fault but before he could do anything about it, the bell rang and everyone had to head to lesson. He'd have to catch her in their second period English lesson and apologise. However, after he'd kissed Rachel goodbye, Sam called him back.

"I want to know what your problem is," Sam said getting straight to the point. "You've barely spent any time with Mercedes. That means I get to spend more time with her and I love that, but when she's crying on my shoulder because her best friend hasn't told her the most importantly thing, that's heart breaking."

"I know, Sam," Puck sighed. "I miss her and every time I go to call her, something pops up to do with work or Rachel or my sister. I have to work more because I need to money for the babies. I need to be there for Rachel because not only did I promise her, but I promised her fathers and Shelby that I would. I got her pregnant so I have to be there for her, not to mention that I love her too. On top of that, my sister's dad is ill and she's stressed and my mother's going through a lot of stress with her family and her boyfriend is trying to help her sort it out. There's so many places that I need to be at once and I'm trying to keep up with it!"

Sam hadn't expected that to be the reason; he's just presumed he was spending all of his time with Rachel. "Puck, mate, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you had so much on your plate."

"It's not something that I share. Don't get me wrong, I love Mercedes and you're right, she is my best friend. And I realised now, that's what I'm missing. I need her to help with all of this because I know she'll be by my side. I promise that I'll talk to her and sort everything out before it's too late," Puck said.

"I'm here if you need me too, bro," Sam replied honestly. The two then hugged it out and headed to lesson. They would have to talk to Coach Beiste later to ask her to change their late marks, she'd understand, she was there for all of her football players.

oOoOo

When Puck's second period came around, he immediately went over to Mercedes and pulled her into a huge hug. "I'm so sorry, Cedes. It's all my fault. I should have spoken to you over the holidays but things kept coming up and I'd forget. There's been so much going on and I didn't realise that the reason it was getting so bad was because I didn't have my best friend to talk to. Please forgive me?" He asked staring straight into her eyes.

"Of course, I forgive you!" She replied, "I just don't get why you didn't tell me that you were going to propose."

"I was going to, I swear," he started. "I had your number dialled and all I need to press was call but then my mom shouted me and told me to pick up my sister because her dad's been taken ill then after that I hadn't had the chance to contact you. I really am so sorry."

"It's okay," Mercedes sighed. "I'll come over tonight and you can tell me everything that's going on and I'll be there for you."

"Thank you so much!" Puck threw his arms around her again before the headed into the lesson. Shelby smiled at them as they walked in and Puck returned it before taking his seat.

oOoOo

The day soon passed and all the glee club were in the choir room waiting for the first rehearsal of the year to take place. Shelby and Will walked in hand and hand as usual but Shelby was grinning more than usual.

"Welcome back everyone!" Will greeted, "But before we get into the final rehearsals before Saturday, we have an announcement."

"We've decided that we're going to get married straight after Regionals!" Shelby cried and everyone congratulated them. When the noise died down a little bit, Shelby continued. "We know we're going to win and we want to make the day even more special."

"With this said, we're going to run the group number from the top!"

oOoOo

During the week, Shelby and Rachel went shopping and found the most perfect dress for Shelby. It was ivory and strapless. It was pulled in completely under the bust and was coated in diamonds. It flowed out down and touched the floor, even when Shelby tried it on with her killer heels and they knew it was the perfect dress for her. So they paid for it then and there.

The next night was dedicated for looking for a dressed for Rachel and they found that too, but it was a little more challenging, due to Rachel's round stomach. It was deep purple but with straps. It also pulled in under the bust with a ribbon and flowed lightly down to Rachel's knees.

They were the only dressed that they needed to buy as both Shelby and Will wanted a small wedding. Will had done the huge wedding with Terri and he'd hated it. There was only going to be the bride, groom, maid of honour and the best man. While Rachel and Shelby were in New York, Will had had a boys' night in. Well it was only him and Puck and Beth had been there too, so it wasn't really a boys' night. However, during the couple of drinks they had, Will had asked Puck to be his best man and Will was thrilled when Puck had agreed.

Will's parents had sadly passed away and he didn't have any siblings so the glee kids were most likely going to be sitting on his side of the church. Will had also invited Shannon to the wedding and she was going to be sitting on his side of the church too. Shelby, obviously, had her parents, her sister and her family so they'd be on her side of the family. Shelby had even invited Hiram and Leroy to the wedding because she was so grateful to them and wanted to spend this happy day with them being there.

oOoOo

Before everyone knew it, Saturday had finally come around and before Shelby could panic that it was her wedding day, she had the panic that the New Directions needed to win. They were competing against The Warblers and The Shakers, the latter being the glee club that Shelby's nephews, Jamie and Tommy, were members of. She knew that The Warblers were talented and she knew that her nephews were too but she didn't know if their club was any good. She supposed they had to be if the nephews were in it.

Naomi, Amelia, the twins, Daisy and Jack had driven down the day before and were staying in the same hotel that the twins' school was staying in to make it easier for the twins to rehearse. They'd stopped by Shelby and Will's place before they got there and greeted them.

Shelby and Will droved to McKinley, where the completion was being help, in a matter of minutes due to their part excitement and part terror. Once they were there the met with the team in the green room while everyone got ready. The girls were wearing blue and white 50's style polka dot dresses with a white band going underneath the bust. The boys were wearing black trousers and blue shirts. Rachel was leading everyone in a vocal warm up and as soon as Shelby walked in, Shelby took over.

They were interrupted part way through when they were told that they were going to be competing last after The Warblers so without much further ado, they headed to the auditorium to watch Tommy and Jamie's group.

The voice over announced the three, once again, unknown judges before announcing, "From Columbus High, please put your hands together for The Shakers!"

The group then filed onto the stage wearing black and white suits with Jamie and Tommy stood at the front. The beat kicked in and the two began singing a medley of Michael Jackson while everyone else danced. It was extremely impressive and if it wasn't for the fact that this could beat them, Rachel and Shelby were proud of them.

After a short interlude, The Warblers came on wearing their usual uniform and sang 'Glad You Came' by the Wanted followed by 'Live While We're Young' by One Direction and again, their performance was amazing.

The New Directions then headed to the green room for final touch ups but the one that was the most panicked was Carly. She was breathing heavily and fanning her face. Nothing Finn was saying to her was working at all.

"Carly, baby, calm down," he kept repeating, "You're going to be amazing!"

"Show circle!" Will called when he entered the room. "I know everyone is going to be amazing and we can do this." He then counted down from one and the team shouted, "NEW DIRECTIONS!" before lifting their hands together.

As they all left the room, Rachel could see that Carly hadn't calmed down at all so she dropped Puck's hand and grabbed her sisters. "You can do this," she assured her.

"What if I mess up?"

"You won't," Rachel said simply. "Do you know why?" Rachel continued when Carly shook her head. "Because we're together and we're gonna kill it!"

Carly nodded and they walked quicker to the auditorium and to the back of the stage. Quinn walked over to them when they got there. "Here are your microphones, you're on first," she told them.

"Okay," Rachel replied and looked over to Carly. "You ready?"

"Let's get this party started!" Carly replied and they both ran onto the stage to their starting positions as the curtain pulled back to show them. Part way through the performance, Brittany and Mike joined them on the stage and began dancing with them.

"Rachel:

Seems like just yesterday  
You were a part of me  
I used to stand so tall  
I used to be so strong  
Your arms around me tight  
Everything, it felt so right  
Unbreakable like nothing could go wrong

Both:  
Now I can't breathe  
No, I can't sleep  
I'm barely hanging on

Here I am  
Once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it  
Can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes

Carly:  
I told you everything  
Opened up and let you in  
You made me feel alright for once in my life  
Now all that's left of me  
Is what I pretend to be  
So together but so broken up inside

Both:

'Cause I can't breathe  
No, I can't sleep  
I'm barely hanging on

Here I am  
Once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it  
Can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes

Rachel:  
Swallow me then spit me out  
Carly:

For hating you, I blame myself  
Both:

Just seeing you, it kills me now  
Now I don't cry  
On the outside, anymore!

Here I am  
Once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it  
Can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes

Here I am  
Once again  
I'm torn into pieces  
Can't deny it  
Can't pretend  
Just thought you were the one  
Broken up deep inside  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry  
Behind these hazel eyes"

As soon as the last note ended, the audience erupted and the applause started. Rachel, Carly, Mike and Brittany bowed before the first three ran off the stage and were replaced by Quinn and Santana. Quinn stood at the front with the other two stood beside her on either side and the intro for 'Call Me' began. Their performance was exactly like their original glee audition for 'Say A Little Pray'.

When that ended, they received the same amount of applause as the two before them. When it died down, everyone walked on to the stage. Puck, Finn, Sam and Blaine took centre stage and started their performance.

"Puck: I'm gonna make you bend and break (Finn: It sent you to me without wait)  
Say a prayer, but let the good times roll  
In case God doesn't show (Finn: Let the good times roll, let the good times roll)

Sam: And I want these words to make things right  
But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life  
Blaine: Who does he think he is?  
If that's the worst you got, better put your fingers back to the key

All: One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you, only sweeter  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories  
See, he tastes like you, only sweeter, oh

Finn: Been looking forward to the future  
But my eyesight is going bad  
In these crystal balls  
It's always cloudy except for  
When you look into the past  
One night stand  
(Puck: One night stand)

All: One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you, only sweeter  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories  
See, he tastes like you, only sweeter, oh

(Blaine: They say)  
Sam: I only think in the form of crunching numbers  
In hotel rooms, collecting page six lovers  
Puck: Get me out of my mind  
Get you out of those clothes  
Finn: I'm a letter away  
From getting you into the mood  
Whoa

All: One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you, only sweeter  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories  
See, he tastes like you, only sweeter, oh

(Puck: One night, one more time)  
One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great  
He tastes like you, only sweeter  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
(Puck: One night, one more time)  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories  
(Puck: For the memories, for the memories  
See, he tastes like you, only sweeter)"

The four lead singers took their bows before the three lead girls bowed and then the rest bowed and they all ran off the stage.

oOoOo

The New Directions were huddled in the green room waiting for the announcement that they were needed back on stage when the door opened. Rachel looked up and saw Jamie and Tommy walk into the room. She then stood up and walked over to her cousins with Puck following her.

"We just wanted to say you were amazing and no hard feelings," Tommy said.

"Of course," Rachel replied and hugged her cousins and Puck shook their hands. "Though you know we're going to win," Rachel teased.

"We'll see about that," Jamie said jokingly just as Shelby walked over to them.

"You two were amazing," she said pulling them into a hug.

"Thanks, Shelbs," Tommy replied.

"We're excited for the wedding," Jamie added.

Before Shelby could reply, the thing they were waiting for happened and they were all called to the stage to announce the winners. Rachel took Puck's outstretched hand and they walked back on the stage with their group. The New Directions were stood in to the left with The Shakers in the middle and The Warblers on the far right. The leader of The Warblers, Sebastian, was stood at the front with a smug smile aimed at Blaine as he wasn't competing with them anymore. Blaine ignored them and looked at Kurt for reassurance. Kurt grasped his boyfriend's hand tightly as they waited.

The judges finally came on and announced the results. "In third place is The Warblers!"

Sebastian looked furious but quickly altered his facial expression before walking forward and accepting the third place trophy.

"In second place is The Shakers. Meaning the winners are the New Directions!"

Rachel screamed loudly with the rest of her team and she through her arms around Puck as Shelby and Will walked over to collect their trophy. Rachel then turned and hugged Carly before going through the entirety of the group. Everyone was ecstatic and euphoric. They were still like that as they went back to the green room to prepare for the wedding that was following their win.


	38. Chapter 38

Will and Puck, along with the rest of the guys, which actually included Tommy and Jamie, all set off to the church close to school where the ceremony was going to be held. The twins congratulated them on their victory and agreed that they were much better than them. Luckily, they were juniors and had the chance to compete again next year which their cousin didn't.

The rest of the girls set off next with Shelby's mother and sister leaving Jack and Amelia to go with Rachel and Shelby. Amelia was an expert when it came to flawless makeup so while Rachel did Shelby's hair, Amelia did her face. It took them half an hour to perfect it and they still had enough time to get to the church. Rachel and Amelia set off before Jack and Shelby.

"I hope she doesn't bottle out of it," Amelia muttered as she drove Rachel to the church.

"Why would she?" Rachel asked. "Mom loves Will."

"I know she does," Mia said quickly, "That's what scares me. I've never seen her this happy and in love. I don't know how she's going to cope. It's all happened so quickly."

"That's just how mom works though. Everything will be fine," Rachel replied with a silent hopefully on the end. However, Amelia seemed to hear it as she glanced at Rachel and smiled.

While they drove to the church, Jack and Shelby were in the limousine behind them.

"Are you ready for this, Shelb?" Jack asked calmly.

"I've never been surer in my life," Shelby replied just as calmly. "I love Will and I want to marry him. I know this has been so fast but my life has never felt so right. I have two perfect daughters and I'm about to become Mrs Schuester and it…" Shelby trailed off because she was literally that happy.

Jack then took her hands and looked her in the eye before saying, "I'm so happy for you, Shelby Elizabeth." He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it just as the car slowed to a halt.

"This is it," she murmured. She then looked at her dad and smiled, "Let's go."

Jack helped her out of the car and linked her arm with his and they made the short walk to the front door. To say it was January, the sun was shining making the day warmer than it should have been.

Rachel greeted them at the door and hugged her grandfather quickly.

"Everything's ready," she assured her mother and smiled.

Shelby nodded and the music started to play. Rachel recognised her cue and started to walk down the aisle with the pink roses in her hand. Despite not being the one getting married, she was excited to be walking towards Puck who was stood at the end, next to Will. Puck smiled at her proudly and she blushed slightly. Many flashes indicated the photos being taken but she didn't take any notice to them. Finally, she made it up the aisle and stood in her place and turned just in time for the wedding march to being and Shelby to start walking up the aisle.

Will was stood straight with his eyes set on the door that will open at any second to reveal his bride. So as soon as the wedding march began, the door opened and Shelby stood there on the arm of her father but Will wasn't paying attention to Jack, his eyes only on Shelby as hers locked onto his. Will actually gasped aloud at her mesmerising beauty making Puck whisper, "you're a lucky one," into his ear. Will barely heard him but smiled at his comment.

After what seemed like a life time, Shelby eventually made it up to the altar where her father took her hand and placed it into Will's.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" The Vicar asked.

"I do, her father, Jack Edmund Corcoran," Jack replied before kissing Shelby slightly on her cheek and taking his seat next to Daisy and Beth.

The Vicar then continued with the rituals and the passing of the rings. "With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," he announced and then turned to Will. "You may kiss your bride."

Will wasted no time in leaning forward and sealing his lips over Shelby's with a short but loving kiss. He then took her hand and led back down the aisle and down another corridor for more pictures to be taken. Rachel and Puck then linked arms and walked down the aisle into the car that was waiting for them. Daisy, with Beth on her hip, and Jack, along with Naomi, Amelia, Brady and the twins soon joined them and they headed to the reception. Daisy passed Beth over to Rachel to get in the car and once she was in, she opened her arms to take Beth back, but the toddler seemed happy enough to sit on her sister's lap.

"What a beautiful wedding," Daisy sobbed slightly. She couldn't believe her baby girl had finally gotten married and she was so overjoyed that it was to a man like Will. She thought all those years ago that Shelby and Scott were destined to be together but she agreed with the rest of her family that she'd never seen Shelby so happy then when she was with Will.

"Yeah, makes me wish we were married," Naomi replied and elbowed Amelia slightly.

"Too much hassle for us though," Amelia sighed in reply. "I love you and you love me, that's all I need."

Rachel smiled at her aunts as they leant forward to kiss.

"I bet it'll be us next," Puck murmured to Rachel.

"You're probably not wrong," Rachel replied and kissed him on his cheek.

"I still can't believe you two are getting married though," Daisy said but continued as Rachel went to complain, "But I'm glad you're waiting until you're ready."

Rachel smiled at her grandmother and then felt the car slow to a halt. Puck climbed out of the car first so that he could hold out his arm for Rachel to take. She took it gladly and the two of them walked into the reception to see that they weren't actually the first people there. Shelby and Will would arrive later for a grand entrance. Most of the glee club was actually there waiting for them and waiting for the party to start. Shelby and Will had decided against a sit down dinner and just went for a buffet.

As soon as Rachel and Puck stepped into the room, Santana and Mercedes ran straight up to them. Santana grabbed Rachel and dragged her, gently, to the dance floor as Mercedes did the same thing to Puck. Both of them wanted to dance with their best friend.

Rachel had danced with Santana, Quinn and Kurt before the music was turned down and her grandfather, Jack, announced, "Everyone can I have your attention! May I present to you the new, Mr and Mrs Schuester!"

The whole room erupted in cheers and confetti was thrown at them in celebration. Neither Shelby nor Will could stop smiling and everyone cleared the dance floor ready for their first dance, just as Puck and Rachel went onto the stage to sing.

"Rachel: You light the skies, up above me  
A star, so bright, you blind me, yeah  
Puck: Don't close your eyes  
Don't fade away, don't fade away

Both: Oh  
Yeah you and me we can ride on a star  
Puck: If you stay with me girl  
Both: We can rule the world  
Yeah you and me we can light up the sky  
Rachel: If you stay by my side  
Both: We can rule the world

Puck: If walls break down, I will comfort you  
If angels cry, oh I'll be there for you  
Rachel: You've saved my soul  
Don't leave me now, don't leave me now

Both: Oh  
Yeah you and me we can ride on a star  
Puck: If you stay with me girl  
Both: We can rule the world  
Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky  
Rachel: If you stay by my side  
Both: We can rule the world

Oh  
All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you  
All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you

Yeah you and me we can ride on a star  
Puck: If you stay with me girl  
Both: We can rule the world  
Yeah you and me, we can light up the sky  
Rachel: If you stay by my side  
Both: We can rule the world

All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you  
All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you

All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you  
All the stars are coming out tonight  
They're lighting up the sky tonight  
For you, for you"

Everyone clapped, not only for the first dance but also for Rachel and Puck's duet. Shelby and Will pulled away from each other and rushed to hug Rachel and Puck. Neither had told them that they were going to be singing for their first dance, they wanted it to be a surprise for them.

"That was beautiful, darling," Shelby cried as she hugged Rachel tightly.

"I'm glad because it was for you two," Rachel replied.

The two couples parted as the announcement that the buffet was open was heard. With Rachel being pregnant, she was really building up an appetite and was the first over to the food.

When everyone had had their fair share of the buffet for now, the celebration of the wedding and the victory at Regional's finally began and Kurt and Blaine jumped onto the stage.

"Let's really get this party started!" Kurt called.

"Blaine: When I'm with you baby  
I go out of my head  
I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

Kurt: All the things you do to me  
And everything you said  
I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

Both: We slip and slide as we fall in love  
And I just can't seem to get enough of

Blaine: We walk together  
We're walking down the street  
Both: I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

Kurt: Every time I think of you  
I know we have to meet  
Both: I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

It's getting hotter, it's a burning love  
And I just can't seem to get enough of

Blaine: And when it rains  
You're shining down for me  
Both: I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

Just like a rainbow  
You know you set me free  
I just can't get enough  
I just can't get enough

You're like an angel and you give me your love  
And I just can't seem to get enough of"

Everyone danced along to them and clapped when they finished their songs. They took their bows before Blaine clutched Kurt's hand and led him to the dance floor as Santana made her way up to the stage.

"Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Schue!" She cried. "This is to slow it down a little and is for my beautiful girlfriend, Brittany!"

The guitar started and Santana swayed on the spot waiting for her cue to start.

"You were in college working part time waiting tables  
Left the small town, never looked back  
I was a flight risk with a fear of falling  
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts  
I say can you believe it?  
As we're lying on the couch  
The moment I can see it  
Yes, yes, I can see it now

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together  
And there's a drawer of my things at your place  
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded  
You said we'll never make my parents' mistakes  
But we got bills to pay  
We got nothing figured out  
When it was hard to take  
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about

Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
You saw me start to believe for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine

Oh oh ohh  
And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m.  
As everything was slipping right out of our hands  
And I ran out crying and you followed me out into the streets  
Braced myself for the goodbye  
'Cause that's all I've ever known  
And you took me by surprise  
You said I'll ever leave you alone

You said  
I remember how we felt sitting by the water  
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time  
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter  
She is the best thing that's ever been mine

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine  
Do you believe it?  
We're gonna make it now  
and I can see it  
I can see it now"

While Santana sang, all the couples slow dances with each other: Rachel and Puck, Finn and Carly, Quinn and Joe and so on everyone but Brittany who usually used any excuse to just get up and dance. Instead, she just stood at the front of the stage and watched Santana with adoration and love in her eyes. As soon as the song ended, Brittany ran onto the stage and threw her arms around Santana and hugged her tightly only pulling away to kiss her fully.

"I love you," she said, "and you're the best thing that's ever been mine, too!"

"I love you, too," Santana replied, shocked at how meaningful Brittany was being but shook it off quickly and kissed Brittany again.

The next time that someone walked onto the stage it wasn't for a performance; it was Shelby.

"It's time for the bouquet to be thrown. However, seeing that practically all the ladies here are taken, it can be for the non-married ones," Shelby called and laughed slightly when she saw her mother frown.

The girls all gathered in front of the stage and got ready in case they caught it.

"Three, two, one!" Shelby cried and threw the flowers just after one. The flowers flew through the air and landed into Rachel's empty arms. The room clapped before going back to dancing. Puck then walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her. "I told you it would be us next," he whispered and kissed her cheek.

"Puckerman, I want another dance as Sam and Mike are too busy dancing with each other!" Mercedes demanded taking Puck away from Rachel.

Rachel smiled at Puck's guilty face before turning round to look for her mother who had disappeared after walking off of the stage. She saw Will sitting with Finn and Artie but she couldn't see her mother. Deciding that she could be in the bathroom, that's where she checked first but her mother wasn't there so she headed outside and saw her mother sitting on the wall.

"Mom?" Rachel called slightly.

Shelby turned and smiled at Rachel brightly. "Hey, honey," Shelby replied.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Getting some fresh air and thinking the day through. It's been crazy hasn't it?"

"Yeah, but we won and now we're going to Nationals!" Rachel cheered, "And I officially have another dad. It makes it even better."

"That makes Will so happy when you say that, you know."

"I know and it makes me happy, too. Don't get me wrong, I love my dads and I love you but if feels right that Will's a parental figure to me because he's helped me so much. I know you two are going to be together for a long time," Rachel said. "I'm so happy for you, Momma."

Shelby smiled and hugged Rachel tightly. "Let's go back in before they start to look for us," Shelby suggested smiling.

Rachel nodded before saying, "Who would have imagined you becoming Shelby Schuester!"

Shelby laughed, "Not me but I'm happy I am!"

oOoOo

Many rounds of dancing later, Finn and Puck had finally persuaded Will to take the stage. As much as he loved singing, he didn't really want to do it at his wedding but he'd drank a little bit too much alcohol and was at the stage where he'd accept to do anything.

"This is for you, my beautiful wife!" He called pointing to Shelby. "Wow, my wife. I've said that to someone before but she wasn't worth anything. Shelby Schuester, you are definitely the one for me and this is for you, babe!"

The band started playing and Will started to sing Bryan Adams' classic hit: Everything I do, I do it for you. Everyone knew that Will would have picked a different song if he was sober but Shelby didn't care. She loved the crazy man that was stood on the stage singing to her and she glanced down at her hand at the rings that were on her finger and she knew that they'd stay there forever.

Once Will had finished singing, Shelby rushed forward and pulled him close to her and kissed him passionately.

"I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too," she replied and giggled slightly.

Will then laced their fingers together and pulled her out of the room and they weren't seen for the rest of the night.


	39. Chapter 39

It was the Monday after the wedding and the New Directions were waiting in the choir room with a huge sign reading: Welcome Mr and Mrs Schuester! Oddly enough, it was actually Brittany's idea for the banner. The rest of them were just going to sing them a song. Shelby and Will soon walked through the door as usual to start the rehearsal but were surprised by everyone wearing their Regionals costume and were stood ready for a performance.

"Mom, Will, can you both take a seat, please?" Rachel said stepping forward to grab their hands. She led them to the chairs that had been set out for them and for the first time, they saw the banner.

"Oh, guys, you didn't have to go into this much effort," Will said.

"Of course we did!" Tina cried. "You got married and led us to another victory. You earned this!"

Brad then stepped forward and pressed play on the CD player and Rachel and Santana stepped forward ready to sing with everyone else getting ready for the dance.

"Rachel:  
Yellow diamonds in the light  
Now we're standing side by side  
As your shadow crosses mine  
What it takes to come alive  
It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny  
But I've gotta let it go

Santana and Rachel:  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place

Santana:  
Shine a light through an open door  
Love and life I will divide  
Turn away cause I need you more  
Feel the heartbeat in my mind

Rachel:  
It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny  
(Everyone: I just can't deny)

Rachel with Everyone:  
But I've gotta let it go  
Ooh

Santana and Rachel with Everyone:  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place  
We found love in a hopeless place

Rachel:  
Yellow diamonds in the light  
(Santana: In the light)  
And we're standing side by side  
(Santana: Oh)  
As your shadow

Rachel with Santana:  
Crosses mine...

Santana:  
We found love!

Rachel with Everyone:  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: Ooh)  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: In a hopeless place)  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: Oooh-ooh)  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: Hopeless place)

Rachel:  
We found love!

Rachel and Santana with Everyone:  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: Ohoh)  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Santana: We found love)  
We found love in a hopeless place  
(Rachel: Ooh)  
(Rachel and Santana: We found love)  
We found love in a hopeless place"

When it finished, Shelby and Will shot out of their seats and rushed forward to hug Rachel and Santana before moving to hug the rest of the team.

"That was amazing, everyone," Will said afterwards. "And it was with an outstanding performance like that that we won Regionals!"

As Will said this, Shelby walked out of the room to return seconds later carrying their first place trophy. Puck shot forward to take it out of her hands and lifted up in the air. "Come on, New Directions!"

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend…no fiancé's actions. "Even my cousins said we deserved to win so there aren't any hard feelings there," Rachel said.

"Yeah, but your gran looked furious that we did," Quinn added and everyone turned to look at her in shock. "What? She was sat next to my mom in the audience so I saw her reaction when I went to look at my mom's. She didn't look happy at all."

"I don't understand," Rachel muttered.

"It's fine, Rach," Shelby assured her daughter as she placed her hand on her shoulder, "She's always been like that. She worships the boys' talents. I'm sure she'll be thrilled when we win Nationals."

Rachel didn't look comforted by that but she shrugged it off and turned to Will. "What's the assignment for this week?" She asked. "We haven't had one in a while."

"Well we've been brain storming a few ideas and it's between duets or group numbers," he replied. "It's up to you to decide."

"Will the groups be boys verses girls?" Finn asked. "We haven't done one of them yet this year."

"Then it's decided. Boys verses girls competition but I want two different girl and boy groups as there's enough of you," Will decided. "The only rule is that the songs must be an acoustic version."

Immediately after Will said that, Santana pulled Rachel, Quinn and Brittany closer to her. "I have dibs on these three," she called and laughed at Brittany's squeal.

"I guess it's us four together then," Mercedes said grinning at Tina, Sugar and Carly.

As she said this, Sam reached out and grabbed Puck and Blaine by their shoulders with Blaine catching on to Kurt indicating that this was going to be one of the boy teams. The other boys, Mike, Finn, Artie and Joe, then walked up to each other with a share of high fives around the group.

"I forgot to mention that winning band gets a free meal to Breadstix," Will added.

Santana looked overjoyed at this and pulled her group into the corner and started plotting with them. Rachel shook her head at her best friend's addiction to the dried food but she also wanted to win. Last time her beloved Puck won, but she wasn't letting him win a second time round.

oOoOo

They spent the rest of the week planning outfits and songs and arrangements. Shelby and Will were going to pull a name out of a hat to decide which group would win so everyone had to nominate a team captain. Rachel immediately said Santana should be their captain as she picked the team and Mercedes became the captain of the other girls group. Puck followed what his fiancée did and chose Sam as the captain due to him practically choosing their group. Artie nominated himself to be the captain of the other group.

On the Wednesday night, Rachel, Quinn and Brittany all headed over to Santana's house for a rehearsal and to pick out what they were wearing.

"I think we should wear duck suits," Brittany suggested as they sat on Santana's bed.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Britt," Quinn replied. "I don't look very good in yellow."

Brittany pouted but Rachel and Santana laughed slightly. No one ever wanted to hurt Brittany's feelings. They knew the real reason why Quinn had said no, and they fully agreed, but her excuse was rather clever.

"Fine, I want matching outfits though," Brittany said.

"Agreed," Quinn added and Brittany smiled.

Santana's facial expression changed and everyone recognised it. "San, are you okay?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, sure, why?"

"You were thinking, I was scared," Rachel teased and wasn't ready for the pillow being thrown at her head.

"Hey, no pillows are to be thrown at a pregnant lady!" Quinn chastised and threw the pillow back at Santana.

"Yeah, and not at a Latina either, unless you want me to go all Lima Heights on your asses," the Latina grumbled under her breath but everyone ignored her and went back to planning ideas for their performance.

"I have an idea," Rachel announced a few minutes later. "I agree with matching but I'd prefer if it was matching colours because we want to be ourselves too."

"Okay?" Santana said slowly, trying to follow what Rachel was babbling on about.

"Obviously, I don't have the same figure as you three so I'd rather wear a loose dress and you, San, prefer to wear tighter dresses," Rachel finished.

"That's true," Santana replied and got up and crossed her room to her closet. "We're all wearing red, by the way and I just so happened to buy this dress last week."

She opened the closet door and walked in before returning wearing a bright red dress. It hugged her curves perfectly and showed off her cleavage and stopped part way down her thighs. It had Santana written all over it.

"That's gorgeous," Quinn murmured.

"Thanks," Santana grinned and laughed when Brittany ran over to her and threw her arms around her to kiss her.

"No offence guys, but I think it's time for you two to leave," Brittany said.

"Yeah, we were going any way," Quinn replied hurriedly and grasped Rachel's hand and the two of headed downstairs and out of the house but they didn't miss the giggles and the moans coming from Santana's bedroom.

oOoOo

When Rachel got home later that night, as she'd gone to Quinn's to pick her dress after their departure from Santana's house, she saw Mercedes, Sugar and Tina sitting on her sofa with Carly nowhere to be seen. Mercedes and Tina were chatting freely but Sugar looked worried and kept glancing upstairs and at her phone.

"Hey, Rach," Tina greeted with a smile.

"Hey," Rachel replied, "where's Carly?"

"She's upstairs," Mercedes shrugged.

Confused, Rachel headed up and walked into Carly's bedroom. Carly was sat at the bottom of her bed wiping her eyes and Rachel rushed over to her.

"Guys, I said I'd be down in a minute, there's no need to check on me," Carly said as she heard someone enter her room.

"Carls, it's me," Rachel replied and wrapped her arms around her sister. "What's wrong?"

"My arm started to hurt and I had flash backs to the accident and then losing…" Carly trailed off.

"Oh, honey. It's gonna get easier but it takes time. I'm here for you whenever you need me," Rachel promised.

"I know."

"You might want to go downstairs as Sugar looks so worried."

Realisation dawned in Carly's eyes and she stood up. "I'll see you later," she said and rushed back downstairs to her friends.

Rachel stood up too and headed to her own bedroom to look through her wardrobe for something red, she owned many red things but that was before she became pregnant. While looking through her wardrobe, she saw the dress she'd worn to Santana's party during the summer, the party where she'd gotten drunk and slept with Puck, hence the pregnancy. She sighed as she looked at it, knowing that the night was special because it created her babies but it was also the night that ruined her figure. She then shook her head and started looking through the rest of her clothes until she found a different red dress which was loose fitting. Sighing again, she realised it would have to do. Shutting her wardrobe doors, she walked over to her bed and picked up her phone and rang Puck for their nightly chat and to tell him about what happened at Santana's and Quinn's and then what happened when she got home.

oOoOo

Before everyone knew it, it was Friday and everyone turned up to glee wearing the outfit's they'd chosen. Team Sam was in black: black t-shits, black skinny jeans and black converse. Team Artie was in green and blue: green t-shirts, blue jeans and green converse. Team Mercedes didn't have a colour code, or if they did, it was multi-coloured. All were wearing high-waisted denim shorts and wore matching converse to the colour of top they were wearing: Mercedes was gold, Sugar was pink, Carly was coral and Tina was purple. Then there was team Santana with their red dresses. Santana was wearing her tight red dress, Quinn in her red doll dress, Brittany with her slim fit red dress and then Rachel's loose flowing red dress. As Rachel couldn't wear heels, they all agreed to wear black flats with their outfit.

Shelby and Will walked in and congratulated everyone on their outfits before getting down to business.

"We've decided to change it up a little bit," Shelby announced, "instead of pulling your names out of the hat, we're going to shuffle the cards that have one to four on them and hand one to the captains."

"So will the four captains come forward, please," Will instructed and Santana, Mercedes, Sam and Artie walked (or in Artie's case, rolled) forward.

Shelby then handed the four a number and they returned to their seats. The four captains said nothing but Santana winked towards Rachel and Quinn when she sat down. This meant they were going last, Rachel could feel it.

"We're going to head to the auditorium now and get ready for group number one," Shelby said and after she'd said it, Artie looked a little bit panicked. It seemed that Artie, Mike, Finn and Joe were to go first.

After everyone entered and took their seats, they looked forward as Artie, Mike, Joe and Finn stepped onto the stage.

"Today, we'll be singing, Viva La Vida," Artie announced, "And we hope you like it."

Then the light's dimmed and the backing track started with the spot light coming down on Finn as he sang.

"Finn: I used to rule the world  
Seas would rise when I gave the word  
Now in the morning I sleep alone  
Sweep the streets I used to own

Artie: I used to roll the dice  
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes  
Listen as the crowd would sing  
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

Joe: One minute I held the key  
Next the walls were closed on me  
And I discovered that my castles stand  
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

Finn and Mike: I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field

Joe and Artie: For some reason I can't explain  
Once you go there was never  
Never an honest word  
And that was when I ruled the world

Mike: It was the wicked and wild wind  
Blew down the doors to let me in  
Shattered windows and the sound of drums  
People couldn't believe what I'd become

Artie: Revolutionaries wait  
For my head on a silver plate  
Just a puppet on a lonely string  
Oh who would ever want to be king?

Finn and Mike: I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field

Artie and Joe: For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world

All: I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing  
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing  
Be my mirror, my sword and shield  
My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain  
I know Saint Peter won't call my name  
Never an honest word  
But that was when I ruled the world"

As the song faded, the light dimmed once more until there was no sound. As soon as the lights came back on, everyone stood up and started clapping. Tina, Sugar, Carly and Quinn shot forward and hugged their boyfriends and congratulated them before Quinn walked back into the audience and Mercedes, after a short hug with Sam, walked on to the stage with the rest of the girls.

They had no introduction, they simply stood in a formation and stood forward when it was their time to sing and stepped back afterwards to dance with the others.

"Mercedes: There ain't no reason you and me should be alone  
Tonight, yeah, baby! Tonight, yeah, baby!  
And I got a reason that you're who should take me home tonight  
Tina: I need a man that thinks it's right when it's so wrong  
Tonight, yeah, baby! Tonight, yeah, baby!  
Right on the limits where we know we both belong tonight

Carly: It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous  
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you  
Where we can both fall far in love

All: I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth  
Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,  
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge with you.

Sugar: Another shot before we kiss the other side  
Tonight, yeah, baby! Tonight, yeah, baby!  
I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight  
Alright! Alright!  
Mercedes: Put on your shades, 'cause I'll be dancing in the flames  
Tonight, yeah, baby! Tonight, yeah, baby!  
It isn't hell if everybody knows my name tonight  
(Alright! Alright!)

Carly: It's hard to feel the rush, to brush the dangerous  
I'm gonna run right to, to the edge with you  
Where we can both fall far in love

All: I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth  
Out on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,  
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge with you.

I'm on the edge with you  
I'm on the edge with you  
(You, you, you...)

I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment of truth  
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge,  
I'm on the edge of glory, and I'm hanging on a moment with you  
I'm on the edge with you (with you, with you, with you, with you, with you)"

After their performance, everyone clapped once more and Finn, Sam and Mike jumped on the stage to hug their girlfriends. Sugar was the only one to head off the stage and went to the audience to sit on Artie's lap as he was unable to get on the stage without help. The two shared a short kiss and she snuggled further into his lap.

The girls, Finn and Mike headed off the stage and Puck kissed Rachel quickly before joining Sam on stage with Kurt and Blaine heading up there too.

"We thought we'd take down a notch," Puck announced as Sam, Kurt and Blaine disappeared to return moments later carrying chairs, or in Blaine's case, Sam and Puck's guitars. They all sat down and Puck and Sam put their guitar straps around their head before they started to sing.

"Puck: I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
While you're far away and dreaming  
Sam: I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

All: Don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing

Blaine: Lying close to you feeling your heart beating  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing  
Kurt: Then I kiss your eyes  
And thank God we're together  
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever  
Forever and ever

All: I don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing

Puck: I don't want to miss one smile  
I don't want to miss one kiss  
Sam: I just want to be with you  
Right here with you, just like this  
Blaine: I just want to hold you close  
Feel your heart so close to mine  
Kurt: And just stay here in this moment  
For all the rest of time Yeah yeah yeah

All: I don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing

I Don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you babe  
And I don't want to miss a thing

Don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
And I don't want to miss a thing"

Rachel couldn't hold back the tears when they'd finished and she openly sobbed in front of everyone before rushing onto the stage and hugging Puck.

"It would be you that would make me cry before my performance," she said laughing slightly into his shoulder.

"It was to put you off so we'd win," he replied and winked at her.

"Like that's gonna happen again, Puckerman," Santana said as she, Quinn and Brittany all got onto the stage. "Now get off, it's out time to shine."

As soon as Puck was off the stage, the music started and the four sat on the chairs that Sam had left on the stage.

"Rachel: Give me a second I,  
I need to get my story straight  
My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State  
My lover he's waiting for me just across the bar  
My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, and  
Quinn: I know I gave it to you months ago  
I know you're trying to forget  
But between the drinks and subtle things  
The holes in my apologies, you know  
I'm trying hard to take it back  
Brittany: So if by the time the bar closes  
And you feel like falling down  
I'll carry you home

All: Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Santana: Now I know that I'm not  
All that you got  
I guess that I, I just thought  
Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart  
Quinn: But our friends are back  
So let's raise a toast  
'Cause I found someone to carry me home

All: Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Quinn: Carry me home tonight (Brittany: Nananananana)  
Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)  
Quinn with Rachel: Carry me home tonight (Nananananana)  
Just carry me home tonight (Nananananana)

Santana: The moon is on my side (Brittany: Nananananana)  
I have no reason to run (Nananananana)  
Santana with Rachel: So will someone come and carry me home tonight (Nananananana)  
The angels never arrived (Nananananana)  
But I can hear the choir (Nananananana)  
So will someone come and carry me home (Nananananana)

All: Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

Rachel: So if by the time the bar closes  
And you feel like falling down  
I'll carry you home tonight"

The entire group stood and congratulated them with Puck and Joe running onto the stage to give their girlfriend their congratulations. Brittany simply hugged Santana tighter than she was already doing.

Everyone then turned and looked at Will and Shelby expectantly.

"Your performances were all amazing," Will announced.

"And we will be giving you your results on Monday in rehearsal," Shelby finished and took Will's hand and headed back to the choir room.

Everyone else then linked hands with their other halves and followed their directors back to the choir room, slightly grumbling that they had to wait until Monday but were congratulating each other on their performances.


	40. Chapter 40

Bright and early on Monday morning, Puck picked up Carly and Rachel for school as usual and laughed at the conversation the sisters were having.

"Rach, you can't win everything," Carly was saying, "We won and you're just going to have to accept it."

"In your dreams, Carls," Rachel replied as she got in the front seat of Puck's car, "we blew you away!"

"Morning ladies," Puck said as he put the car back into drive and set off for school.

"Morning," they replied before going back to their conversation.

It was only five minutes into the twenty minute journey but Puck had had enough of the banter between the two.

"That's enough now," he said, "You both know that we won."

"Fat chance, babe," Rachel replied.

"Remember who won last time," Puck added just to irritate Rachel further, "Just saying, darling."

"That was last time."

When they got to school, Carly was the one to dash out of the car. "I'll see you guys later," she called. Both Rachel and Puck presumed that she was meeting Finn but that wasn't actually where she was going.

Instead of going to the choir room to meet her boyfriend like she usually did, she went down a different corridor until she was stood outside of Sue Sylvester's office.

"Come in, C!" Sue called and Carly wasted no time in entering. "Sit," Sue commanded pointing to the chair in front of her desk. Once Carly was seated, Sue spoke again, "I'm sorry about what happened but in a way I'm glad it did. I need you back on the team or we're not going to get through Nationals. We just scraped through Regionals and that's not good enough for me. So are you in?"

"Of course, Coach," Carly replied quickly. "I'm sorry that I wasn't careful enough and I promise it won't happen again."

"It better not," Sue said sternly. "Here's your uniform. Go get changed and report to practise today."

Carly nodded and then exited the room to the changing rooms across the hall and when she put on her old uniform, it felt amazing. She'd really missed being a cheerleader when she was pregnant but with being pregnant she'd got out of her house with her horrible parents and had become extremely close with all of the New Directions, even though she was already friends with Santana, Brittany and Quinn. The best part about it was moving in with Rachel and becoming practically sisters with her. "Maybe everything does happen for a reason," she mused to herself quietly before exiting the changing room and heading to her first lesson with the sound of the bell.

oOoOo

Rachel and Puck headed to the choir room as usual and sat in the corner. Rachel hung her legs over Puck's after they'd sat down and they linked their fingers together.

"I have to go for another scan in a couple of weeks," Rachel murmured.

"Is everything okay?" Puck asked, looking up at her straight away.

"Yeah, it's just the six month scan to make sure everything is still going okay," she assured him quickly.

Puck let go of one of her hands and placed it over her stomach gently. Rachel then leant up and kissed him and it didn't take long for him to respond.

"I love you, Rach," Puck said after he'd pulled back.

"I love you, too," Rachel replied and smiled at him.

The moment was ruined when the bell went indicating first lessons. Santana immediately walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!" She said and pulled Rachel away before she could kiss Puck goodbye.

"Hey, why the rush?" Rachel asked as they walked towards Shelby's classroom.

"I wanted to be slightly early to see if we could persuade that mama yours to tell us who won," Santana replied and shrugged.

"I doubt she's gonna tell us," Rachel said but Santana appeared to have ignored her.

Once they got to the classroom, they headed straight in but to Santana's dismay, Shelby wasn't there yet so they both took their seats at the back. It wasn't long until Kurt showed up and sat beside Rachel.

"Thanks for waiting for me," he said he got his things out of his bag.

"Sorry, someone dragged me away," Rachel replied starting straight at Santana who simply laughed until Shelby walked in to start the lesson.

Fortunately, the lesson passed quickly and the three stood up to head to their next class but Santana stayed back.

"So, Mrs Schue, who won?" She asked.

"I'm not telling you until later," Shelby replied with a smile at being called Mrs Schue.

"It was worth a try," Santana shrugged before linking hands with Rachel and heading to their Spanish lesson.

oOoOo

The choir room buzzed with excitement later in the day when everyone was sat in there waiting for Shelby and Will to announce who had won the competition. They were all sat in their groups ready to congratulate each other or to support each other if they lost. Obviously, everyone wanted to win but they knew that there was only going to be one winner. However, there was one person who was missing: Carly.

"Has anyone seen Carly?" Finn asked as he walked in and saw that his girlfriend wasn't there.

"I haven't seen her since this morning," Rachel replied and shrugged. "I'm sure she's okay."

Just as Rachel said that, Carly herself walked into the room wearing her Cheerio's uniform and her long dark brown hair tied up in the signature ponytail.

"Hey everyone," she greeted before crossing the room and sitting next to Finn.

"Wait, you're a cheerleader again?" Rachel asked her sister.

"Yeah, Sue asked me to go to her office first thing this morning and had put me back on the team in my old position."

"And you just accepted it after what she did to you?" Rachel was getting angry now. She saw how hurt Carly was when she was thrown off the team and when Sue had told the entire school about both of their pregnancies.

"I love being a cheerleader," Carly replied calmly. "I didn't rejoin the team because of Sue. I did it for myself."

Seeing things were getting a little bit heated between the sisters, Quinn intervened, "We're glad you're back on the team, Carly."

"Thanks, Captain."

"Co-Captain," Santana coughed and everyone laughed. At the beginning of the year they, along with Brittany, had rejoined the team and Sue immediately gave Quinn head girl again much to Santana's dismay. Quinn then said she'd only take it if she and Santana could share the roll. Sue wanted the three on the team so much she gave in and Brittany was vice-captain underneath the other two.

The conversation was soon dropped and they started talking about who was going to win the competitions. After about ten more minutes, Shelby and Will walked in and greeted everyone.

"Can't you just tell us who's won already?" Tina asked impatiently.

"Can't we ever build it up?" Shelby raised her eyebrow at everyone when Will said this.

"Of course not," Mercedes replied.

"Okay, we have a top boy group and a top girl group," Shelby announced.

"We want to know which group won though," Sam added.

"Just wait a second," Will said, "We're also going to say which sex won before announcing which team is going to go to Breadstix."

No one replied to this, they just held their breath and waited for the announcement.

"The top groups are team Sam and team Santana." The two teams erupted with cheers with the rest looking slightly downhearted. "The winning sex is the girls!" To this, team Mercedes looked happier and they boys grumbled slightly. "Finally, the winning team and who'll be going to Breadstix is team Santana!"

Santana, Rachel, Quinn and Brittany all jumped up and hugged each other as tightly as possible with excitement. The rest of the team congratulated each other.

"Even though we won," Rachel began, "We thought all of your performances were amazing too!"

"Yeah, but we were just better," Brittany said before smiling brightly at Santana as the Latina leant forward to kiss her.

Puck and Joe stood put and pulled their girlfriends into their arms and hugged them tightly.

"No hard feelings?" Quinn asked Joe quietly.

"Never, you were amazing, Quinn and you deserved to win," Joe replied before sealing their lips in a kiss.

"What was I saying this morning?" Rachel said teasingly to Puck.

"Very funny," he replied before kissing her to shut her up.

oOoOo

Later that night, Puck and Rachel were at the former's house and were sitting around the table with Edith, Alec and Sarah. Rachel had helped Edith prepare their meal as she felt guilty making her prepare something vegan proof just so Rachel could eat it. This wasn't the first time Rachel had met Alec but she still was quite shy around him.

"Noah says you're a singer," Alec said to Rachel.

"Not just a singer," Sarah chipped in, "she's the most amazing singer ever!"

Rachel blushed slightly, "thanks, S."

Before Alec could say anything else, the house phone began to ring so Edith excused herself to pick it up. After a few moments she returned smiling.

"Sarah, your dad's out of hospital and has the all clear!" She announced happily.

"Oh, thank God!" Sarah cried. "Can I ring him later?"

"Of course," Edith replied, "now finish your tea."

After the meal, Rachel stood to help with the pots but Alec got their first. "You two go and relax." Rachel and Puck nodded and headed upstairs as Sarah walked to the phone to ring her dad.

Once the teens were upstairs, they immediately went to the bed. They laid down and Puck spooned Rachel from behind and wrapped his arms around her.

"Ouch," Rachel gasped and her hand flew to her stomach.

"Rach?"

"One of them kicked me!" Rachel cried ecstatically. "Put your hand here!" She moved his hand and placed it to where hers had been moments ago and Puck felt the same movement.

"This is amazing," Puck whispered and couldn't help the tear that slipped down his face. "I think we should start talking about names," he continued after a long pause.

"I'm guessing you've already been planning."

Puck smiled guiltily before sliding out of bed to his desk and picked up a piece of paper from it. "I know you're going to think they're a little lame but I really like them."

He gave Rachel the piece of paper and she read it thoroughly.

"I like the idea of Gabrielle or Liberty," she mused, "but Destiny is too celebrity for me."

"It was worth a shot," Puck murmured. "I really like the name Nathaniel for the boy though."

"I like Nathaniel too but maybe for a middle name? I think it's a little long for a first name," Rachel suggested. "I prefer shorter first names. What about Iris for the girl?"

Puck paused to think about it before replying, "I like it. Iris Lily?"

Rachel smiled brightly and snuggled closer into Puck's warmth. For the rest of the night, they swapped names between each other, some of them they wrote down and some they said just to get a reaction from the other. When Rachel mentioned Edward, Puck immediately said, "There is no way in hell that my son is being named after a pathetic, sparkly vampire!" which made Rachel laughed so loudly that Sarah barged into the room and demanded to know what was going on.

"We're going through baby names," Puck said, "And Rachel suggested naming our son after an idiot vampire."

"It was a joke!" Rachel replied slapping him on his arm slightly.

"I don't see the problem though," Sarah said as she sat next to them on the bed. "Edward Puckerman is actually a really cute name."

"Get out, S," Puck joked, "I don't want you getting that into her head."

However, Sarah ignored her brother and she ended up joining them in suggesting names until it was too late and she had to go to bed. Rachel yawned loudly.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Puck asked.

"No, I'm too comfy," Rachel replied, "I've already text my dads saying I'm staying here for the night," Rachel replied.

"Who's says you can stay here?" Puck mocked.

"Shush, I'm sleeping."

Puck couldn't believe how quickly Rachel could fall asleep sometimes but looking at her now with her eyes shut, she looked so peaceful and he still felt so amazed that this beautiful girl loved him. Not only that, but she was carrying his children and she was wearing a ring on her finger that she'd given him. He crossed the room and turned out the light before joining Rachel in bed again. He wrapped his arm around her protectively and held her close and shut his eyes and dreamed of their future together with the two little ones running around.

oOoOo

The next morning, Rachel woke up bright and early. She hopped into Puck's shower and was part way through her morning ritual before Puck had even woken up. When he did, he got up and made his way over to her but she dodged his embrace to kiss him on the cheek instead. Puck laughed slightly before heading to the shower.

After Rachel was finished with her routine, she went downstairs to the kitchen and was met by Edith and Sarah having breakfast.

"Good morning, Rachel," Edith greeted before handing her a bowl of cereal.

"Morning," Rachel replied, "And thanks, Edith."

"Sarah tells me that you two were talking about names last night."

Rachel had just put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and was unable to reply so she nodded and chewed quickly. "Yeah, we haven't settled on anything, we were just throwing names out that we liked."

"You'll have to let me know when you've finally decided," Edith said excitedly.

"I'm sure we won't know ourselves until they are born," Puck said as he entered the kitchen and walked over to his mom for a hug.

"Morning, Noah," She greeted

"Morning, Mom," He replied and then kissed her forehead before joining Rachel and Sarah at the table after his mother put another bowl of cereal on there.

"If you'll excuse me for a second," Rachel said as she stood up, "I need to make an appointment for the next scan."

After the phone call, Rachel and Puck headed to school.

"You know, we haven't been to see Beth in a while," Puck murmured as he glanced over to Rachel at a set of traffic lights. "I miss her."

"I know how you mean," she replied. "I'm such a bad sister. I'll talk to my mom today about it."

oOoOo

When her English lesson ended, Rachel took her time in collecting her things together.

"You not coming to the choir room?" Santana asked as Kurt rushed past her as Blaine was waiting for him outside the classroom.

"I need to talk to my mom," Rachel replied and shrugged.

"Everything is okay, isn't it?" Rachel didn't miss the panic that flashed in the Latina's eyes.

"Yeah, it's fine." Rachel laughed slightly. "San, you know that I'd tell you if there was a problem, no matter how big or small it is," she added as an afterthought, "I'll see you later."

Santana did her signature eye roll before hugging Rachel as tightly as she could before leaving the classroom. Shelby looked up to bid the two girls goodbye but then noticed that Rachel was still in the room.

"Everything okay, Rach?" She asked with concern filling her eyes that echoed Santana's.

"Yeah, it's fine," Rachel replied quickly. "I just wanted to tell you that I have another scan in three weeks for the six month scan and that Noah and I miss Beth."

Shelby smiled at the mention of her other daughter, "She misses you, too, actually. I've been meaning to talk to you for a while about her. She keeps demanding that she wants to see you."

"I feel so bad," Rachel admitted as she perched on the edge of the table in front of her mother's desk.

"Why?"

"I've been so preoccupied about my pregnancy that I've forgotten about my little sister."

"Don't feel bad. You're still not fully used to having a little sister but why don't you come over and look after her this weekend?" Shelby suggested. "Will and I could use a night out."

"That sounds great," Rachel replied and beamed. "I can't wait to tell, Noah!" Rachel then stood up and hugged her mother tightly as she could before exiting the room. "I'll see you in glee!" She shouted over her shoulder.

Shelby laughed shook her head slightly at her daughter's antics. She was so proud of the woman that Rachel was growing into but she still has heavy regret of not being there for Rachel throughout her life. But when she stops and thinks about it for a while, she realises that she's there now for the most important part of her life: Rachel's pregnancy. Shelby then placed her hand on her flat stomach remembering what it felt like when she was pregnant with Rachel and sighed. There was nothing she wanted more than to be able to have children with Will. She knew that was what he wanted and she wished she could give him them. He was happy with Beth and the fact that Rachel was technically his daughter in a way. However, she knew there was a small thought in the back of his mind that craved a son. Shaking her head again, she left her classroom and headed toward the staffroom to meet Will and Shannon for lunch and pushed the thoughts from her mind.

_Hey guys, I'm back. I have a couple of weeks off college and I'm going to try and write as many chapters as I can in between revising for the like 10 exams I have coming up! After this chapter I'm going to be skipping a couple of weeks where the drama starts to escalate again but I'm not going to reveal anything. _

_I'm still super pleased that I have new favourites/followers a couple of times a week and that I keep getting many reviews for my work. Keep the reviews coming and I'll try to update when I can. Thank you all so much for your support. _

_Don't forget if you want to suggest a song to put in or guess what's gonna happen, feel free to leave a review or even PM me if you want. I hope you're all enjoying my story. With that said, I need to catch up with my sleep. Byee! Love, Emss x._


	41. Chapter 41

Three weeks later and it was finally time for Rachel's scan. She and Puck were sitting in the dull waiting room of the hospital with their hands linked. As per usual, the hospital was running late and with Rachel's slight OCD nature, they'd arrived practically twenty minutes early meaning they'd have a long wait before Rachel's appointment. After what felt like an hour, Puck looked up to the clock and saw that they'd only been sat there for half an hour but his boredom was starting to increase.

"Do you think they'd notice if I started playing with the toys in the toddler section?" He asked eying said toys.

"Yes," Rachel replied and laughed when Puck pouted at her answer. She leant up and kissed the pout away before resting her head on his shoulder. She shuffled slightly to get more comfortable but just as she sighed in content, a nurse appeared and called, "Rachel Berry!" causing Rachel to groan.

"Come on," Puck said excitedly and stood up pulling slightly on Rachel's hand.

They followed the nurse down a corridor and turned left into the room with their hands still linked.

"On the bed, please, Rachel," the nurse instructed happily as she checked Rachel's details. "So you're having twins and they're mixed sex." She nodded to herself before continuing. "Have you started planning everything for after the birth?"

"We're pretty much sorted," Rachel replied, "we've just got a couple more things to decide."

The nurse nodded once more before setting up the machine. "It's going to be cold," she warned.

"I'm aware," Rachel said but she still gasped when the gel went on.

"Everything is going beautifully," the nurse commented. "If you look here, you have the girl's heartbeat, her head and feet and here's the boy. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they came early."

"What do you mean?" Puck asked.

"First time pregnancies almost always come early and twins usually come early, too. Don't worry, they're perfectly healthy," the nurse assured Puck with a slightly tap on his shoulders.

She quickly put the machine away and gave Rachel a wad of tissues to clean up the gel. When everything was sorted, Rachel and Puck thanked the nurse and left to head to school.

"What if they do come early?" Puck asked once they were in the car.

"What do you mean?"

"Will you perform at Nationals if they do?"

"I'd love to but who'd look after them if I was performing?"

"I'm pretty sure my mom would or your dads," Puck shrugged. "They could hold one each," he added as an afterthought and laughed slightly when Rachel did.

"That's a good point," Rachel agreed.

Puck then turned into the school parking lot and found a space that was pretty close to the door. He quickly walked round to Rachel's door and held it open for her which always made her smile brightly. Once she was out, he shut her door, locked the car and took her hand before walking into the school. He walked her right up to her classroom door and kissed her goodbye before heading to his own lesson.

oOoOo

Later that day, everyone piled into the choir room and waited for their two leaders to walk in. When Mr and Mrs Schuester eventually turned up, not holding hands for once, you could see there was a slight tension between them and everyone was puzzled. However, they all knew not to test Shelby's patience.

Realising everyone was waiting for him to talk, Will stepped forward and clapped his hands together. "Musicals!" He announced.

"We're actually dedicating a week to musicals?!" Rachel cried happily.

"Finally!" Kurt cried simultaneously.

"Do we have to?" Finn asked causing his brother to slap him.

"Of course; this is a glee club after all," Kurt said sternly.

"This isn't compulsory, no," Shelby said. "We're aware that not everyone is as fond as musicals as some so if you want to prepare something you can. If you don't, then don't. Simple."

"However we're not going to start them today. We want you to leave your name and a song idea at the end," Will announced. "Today, we're working more on vocal techniques. I want you in pairs to work with each other."

Puck turned round to work with Rachel to see that Kurt had already snatched her to work with so they could discuss which songs they were going to prepare. He then realised that most people were paired up with Carly and Sugar together, Sam and Blaine and so on. If he didn't work with Rachel then he'd usually work with Mercedes but she was already working with Quinn. He then realised the only one left was Finn.

The two weren't as close as they used to be. Finn didn't like that Puck had beaten him to football captain and that he'd pretty much taken over him as co-captain of the glee club with dating Rachel. There was also the initial incident of Puck getting Rachel pregnant when she was still with Finn over the summer. However, Puck shrugged and walked over to Finn.

"Guess it's you and me then, bro," he said.

"It looks that way," Finn replied and the two sat down and started going through what Will had put on the board.

oOoOo

When the session ended, Shelby walked straight up to Rachel as she and Kurt were writing down their names and song ideas for the week's assignment.

"Fancy going out for coffee?" She asked.

"Umm, sure, why not," Rachel replied, "Let me just go tell Noah."

Shelby watched her daughter inform her boyfriend…no fiancé about their sudden plans. Despite the fact that the two had been engaged for over three months, she still called Puck Rachel's boyfriend. Oh well, both names indicated their relationship but she was glad that Puck was serious enough to put a ring on her.

"Okay, let's go," Rachel said excitedly after she'd kissed Puck goodbye.

Shelby then grabbed her bag and linked arms with Rachel. They walked out the room and Rachel was surprised to see that her mother didn't tell Will where they were going. Realising that Will would get worried, she texted him so he wouldn't panic. They headed to Shelby's car and Shelby quickly set off.

"Mom, what's happened?" Rachel asked when she couldn't take the silence in the car.

"My lovely husband and I have had an argument," Shelby replied and sighed sadly.

Well this was odd. Rachel, and everyone else for that matter, thought Shelby and Will were perfect for each other and that their marriage was going so perfectly. They'd been married for over three months now.

"What over?"

"A honeymoon."

Shelby then pulled into the Lima Bean car park. The two got out the car and headed inside. Once in, Rachel went to a free table while Shelby ordered their coffees: a caramel latte for herself and a soy vanilla cappuccino for her daughter. Shelby returned moments later with their order and plonked them down without the grace that she usually carried. She then sat down and sighed loudly.

"Why have you argued over a honeymoon?" Rachel asked as she blew her coffee to cool it down.

"I've told him we can't go until after Nationals," Shelby replied.

"Why's that?"

"I need to be here for you. What about if the babies come early and I'm not here to help you through it?" Shelby's frantic eyes locked onto Rachel's hoping her daughter would understand her point.

"The nurse did say that they would probably come early," Rachel revealed, "But they're not going to be that early. Go soon. Noah and I can look after Beth for you. It can be practise for when our two come along."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Shelby asked with a small, hopeful smile gracing her lips.

"It would be an honour. I need to spend as much time with Beth now so that she doesn't feel left out when the twins come."

"Okay," Shelby sighed.

The two then started talking about random things to pass the time until their stomachs growled. Shelby gave Rachel a lift home to her dads and they were both unsurprised to see Puck's car parked outside. Rachel waved her mother goodbye before stepping into her house to see a row of pizzas laying down the middle of the table and Carly, Finn, Puck and her dads all sitting waiting for her.

"Hey everyone," Rachel greeted as she took her seat in between her daddy and Puck, the latter kissing her temple in greeting.

"Is everything okay with your mom and Mr Schue?" Finn asked tucking into the Hawaiian pizza. "I spoke to him afterwards and he said that they've had a little spat."

"Yeah, they have," Rachel replied and Puck looked up at her questioningly. "But I've given her an idea and it should help them."

"They're such an adorable couple," Carly said. "I hope that we end up like them," she added as she looked up at Finn.

"We'll be even better, babe," he promised and kissed her cheek sweetly causing Carly's cheeks to blush slightly.

"Oh, Dad, Daddy, I said to Mom that Noah and I would look after Beth if they go away but I don't know the details yet."

"I would prefer it if you two stayed here with her," Hiram said carefully.

"You've looked after her for a night before but this will be longer. It's not that we don't trust you," Leroy added when Rachel pouted slightly, "but neither of you have looked after a child that age for a long time."

"What your dad is saying is that, yes, you need the experience, but you also need someone experienced to help you," Hiram finished.

Rachel nodded her understanding and went back to her vegan mushroom pizza making a mental note to inform her mother about it.

oOoOo

Later that night, just before Rachel was going to start her nightly ritual, her phone started to ring.

"Babe, your mom's calling," Puck called from the bed where Rachel's phone laid. Rachel quickly crossed the room and picked it up.

"Hello," she sang.

"We're booked!" Shelby replied excitedly. "I'll fill you in with everything tomorrow morning, 'kay?"

"Perfectly. Night, Mom!"

Rachel hung up the phone and threw it back on the bed knowing that she wouldn't need it for the rest of the night. Knowing she'd forget it was there, Puck put her phone on the bedside table out of the way. He then walked over to his draw where he kept his things that he'd left at Rachel's over the last couple of months and pulled out a pair of boxers. He crossed the room towards the bathroom, only stopping to kiss Rachel's temple before heading to grab a shower.

oOoOo

The next morning, after they'd arrived at school, Carly rushed off to see Finn as usual and Rachel and Puck walked hand in hand down to the Shelby's office. Once they walked in, they saw Will sat in Shelby's chair with Shelby sitting on his lap making out heavily.

"Get a room!" Rachel called and laughed as the two suddenly sprung apart.

"We had one until you two walked in," Will replied.

"Shelby asked us here," Puck reminded them with a smirk.

"Very funny," Shelby added as she climbed of Will's lap to perch on the desk in front of the chair. Will then sat up straight and Puck and Rachel sat on the front table of the classroom and waited for one of the two adults to fill them in on what was going to happen.

"We're going to Hawaii!" Shelby said excitedly. "For just over a week."

"We want you two to take over the glee club for us during that week and I called your dads last night and they're fine with having Beth stay with you for you two to look after her," Will added.

"Thanks, Will!" Rachel cried and got up as quickly as her round stomach would allow her to hug her stepdad.

"No problem, honey," he replied hugging her as tightly as he could.

"We leave late Friday night so you we'll drop her off in the evening," Shelby said. "And then we're back early on Sunday morning.

"Gotcha," Puck said smiling brightly but that smile soon disappeared when the bell rand indicating first lesson. He quickly took Rachel's hand and they both bid the Schuesters goodbye before walking towards their lesson.

oOoOo

That afternoon in glee, Shelby and Will announced their honeymoon.

"Make sure you bring us back some presents!" Sugar squealed.

"Don't push your look," Shelby replied but she winked to show she wasn't being serious. She and Will had already decided that they were buying the entire group at least one present.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Mike and I have something planned for this week's assignment," Tina said.

"Take it away then," Will said and he took Shelby's hand and led her to a seat with the rest of the new directions to watch their performances.

"We've really been working on my singing and we'd like to perform for you," Mike said before kneeling on the floor in front of Tina who mirrored his movements. No one needed the music to kick in to know which musical or song they were going to perform but they were surprised to see them perform this. However, everything fit them so beautifully and you couldn't see anything but love in their eyes.

"TINA:  
Kiss me too fiercely  
Hold me too tight  
I need help believing  
You're with me tonight  
My wildest dreamings  
Could not foresee  
Lying beside you  
With you wanting me

And just for this moment  
As long as you're mine  
I've lost all resistance  
And crossed some borderline  
And if it turns out  
It's over too fast  
I'll make ev'ry last moment last  
As long as you're mine

MIKE:  
Maybe I'm brainless  
Maybe I'm wise  
But you've got me seeing  
Through different eyes  
Somehow I've fallen  
Under your spell  
And somehow I'm feeling  
It's "up" that I fell

BOTH:  
Every moment  
As long as you're mine  
I'll wake up my body  
And make up for lost time

MIKE:  
Say there's no future  
For us as a pair

BOTH:  
And though I may know  
I don't care!  
Just for this moment  
As long as you're mine  
Come be how you want to  
And see how bright we shine  
Borrow the moonlight  
Until it is through  
And know I'll be here holding you  
As long as you're mine

MIKE:  
(spoken) What is it?

TINA:  
(spoken) It's just - for the first time, I feel - (whispers) wicked!"

Just before the song ended and true to the musical, Tina and Mike leant forward and kissed, making the music come together for a perfect ending. As they kissed, the rest of the New Directions clapped loudly with some of the members whooping in celebration. However, the moment started to get a little awkward when Tina and Mike didn't break from the kiss leading to Will coughing loudly to get the teens' attention.

"Sorry," Tina murmured when the pulled back, the blush obvious on her face. Mike didn't seem to share the embarrassment; he simply got up and held his hand out of for Tina to take so he could help her up and they walked back to their seat.

Instead of waiting for Shelby and Will to get back up and take centre stage, Blaine and Kurt walked in front of everyone.

"We've have also prepared something for this week," Kurt said.

"And we hope you like it," Blaine added and dropped Kurt's hand for them to get ready for the performance.

"Blaine:

Never knew I could feel like this  
Like I've never seen the sky before  
Want to vanish inside your kiss  
Every day I love you more and more  
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?  
Telling me to give you everything  
Seasons may change, winter to spring  
But I love you until the end of time

Come what may  
Come what may  
I will love you until my dying day

Both:

Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place  
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace  
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste  
It all revolves around you  
And there's no mountain too high  
No river too wide  
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side  
Storm clouds may gather,  
And stars may collide

Kurt:

But I love you (Blaine: I love you)  
Until the end of time(Blaine: until the end of time)

Both:

Come what may  
Come what may  
I will love you until my dying day

Oh, come what may, come what may  
I will love you, Oh I will love you  
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Come what may  
Come what may  
I will love you until my dying day"

Just like the end of the song before, the two ended the piece with a kiss with a background of cheers.

"Kurt, Blaine, that was so beautiful!" Santana said as she stood up. "However, this is getting far too soppy for me to handle so, I'm going to perform a little something for you all too. And before you question, Rach, yes, I do love musicals, but you've made me watch Funny Girl far too many times!"

Rachel pouted at her best friend's comments but the Latina simply laughed slightly and nodded to the band to start the introduction of her song.

"Come on babe why don't we paint the town  
and all that jazz  
I'm gonna rouge my knees  
and roll my stockings down  
and all that jazz  
Start the car I know a whoopee spot  
Where the gin is cold  
but the piano's hot!  
It's justy a noisy hall  
Where there's a nightly brawl  
And all that jazz

And all that jazz  
And all that jazz  
Slick your hair  
And wear your buckle shoes  
And all that Jazz  
I hear that Father Dip  
Is gonna blow the blues  
And all that Jazz  
Hold on, hon  
We're gonna bunny hug  
I bought some aspirin  
Down at United Drug  
I case you shake apart  
And want a brand new start  
To do that jazz

Find a flask  
We're playing fast and loose  
And all that jazz  
Right up here  
Is where I store the juice  
And all that jazz  
Come on, babe  
We're gonna brush the sky  
I bet you luck Lindy  
Never flew so high  
'Cause in the stratosphere  
How could he lend an ear  
to all that jazz?  
Oh, you're gonna see your sheba shimmy shake  
And all that jazz  
Oh, she's gonna shimmy 'till her garters break  
And all that jazz

Show her where to park her girdle  
Oh, her mother's blood'd curdle

If she'd hear her baby's queer  
For all that jazz

All that jazz  
Come on, babe  
Why Don't we paint  
The town?  
And all that jazz  
And all that jazz  
I'm gonna rouge my knees  
And roll my stockings down  
And all that jazz  
And all that jazz  
Start the car  
I know a whoopee spot  
Where the gin is cold  
But the piano's hot  
It's just a noisy hall  
Where there's a nightly brawl  
And all that jazz

No, I'm no one's wife  
But, Oh, I love my life  
And all that jazz!  
That Jazz!"

Santana bowed at the end of her number and grinned at the cheers she was receiving. "Why thank you," she called back and winked at Rachel and Brittany who were clapping the loudest. "That's what you call a performance!"

Rachel then stood up a walked over to Santana, who had yet to sit back down in her seat. "Just wait until tomorrow, sweetie," Rachel said.

"Bring it on, Rachie!" Santana replied jokily leaning down to hug her best friend.

"You bet, Tana!"

Puck shook his head at his fiancée and her best friend. He wouldn't pretend to know what had happened over the summer to make the two become best friends but he was so happy that it happened. Rachel meant the world to him, she always had done, but he was so glad that she had a group of great friends to be there for her when he wasn't enough.

Rachel then turned back and held her hand out towards Puck, who quickly stood up to take it. "Please tell her that I'll be better than her tomorrow," Rachel said as Puck got to her.

"You know she has this don't you, San?" Puck asked rhetorically.

"Please, I could be better in my sleep," Santana said with a smirk dancing on her lips.

"Just you wait," Rachel replied before pulling Puck out of the room with her noticing that almost all of the New Directions had already left. The only one who was still in the room with them was Brittany, who was waiting for Santana.

Once Rachel and Puck had left the room, Brittany crossed over to Santana and threw her arms around her girlfriend and kissed her fully.

"You were so amazing, baby," she whispered into Santana's ear.

"It was all for you," Santana replied and pulled away from the hug to kiss Brittany again. "Come on, let's go back to mine."

Brittany eagerly took Santana's hand and the two walked down the corridor together and toward the Latina's car, giggling the entire way.


	42. Chapter 42

The next day passed so quickly and before everyone knew it, they were all walking into the choir room in groups of two and three. Quinn, Rachel and Kurt were the first three to enter with Quinn and Kurt questioning Rachel about her performance.

"For the last time, I'm not telling you what I'm performing," she sighed, "You'll have to wait like everyone else."

"You're not even gonna tell us which musical it's from?" Kurt asked aghast.

"Nope," Rachel replied with emphasis on the 'p'.

Quinn was about to continue the argument but she gave up when Joe walked through the door. Instead of saying what she had planned, she called, "Joe!" and the dreadlocked boy walked quickly over and sat next to Quinn giving her a long kiss in greeting.

"Hello, beautiful," he said as they pulled apart.

"Hello to you, too," she replied and kissed him again.

Rachel was close to complaining about the PDA just as Puck and Mercedes walked into the door with the former walking directly to Rachel to give her a kiss that matched the one Joe had given Quinn.

"Hello," Rachel greeted breathlessly.

"Hey," Puck replied grinning, "you ready for your performance?"

"I was born ready," she replied just as Santana and Brittany walking into the choir room hand in hand.

"Good luck, Rachie!" Brittany squealed.

"Hey, I thought you were on my side," Santana said.

"Of course I am," Brittany replied quickly, "but this isn't even a competition so I don't get why you're competing."

"That's actually a good point," Shelby said as she and Will walked into the room. "Santana, why are you making this a competition?"

"It's called a friendly competition," Rachel replied for Santana and she stepped centre stage.

"I'm sorry to interrupted," Will said, "but I'm afraid that Mercedes is actually going to next."

"That's perfectly okay," Rachel said and went back to her seat, "It gives me more time to mentally prepare myself to beat Santana and enjoy another one of our member's amazing talents."

As Rachel said that, Mercedes took centre stage and took the microphone. "I don't think y'all have to guess which musical I'm going to perform," she said and then looked over to the band, "let's kick it!"

"Haaaa  
(Come on baby)  
Haaaa  
(One night)  
Haaaa  
(One night only)

You want all my love and my devotion  
You want my loving soul right on the line  
I had no doubt that I could love you forever  
The only trouble is I really don't have the time

I've got one night only  
One night only  
That's all I have to spare  
One night only  
Let's not pretend you care

I've got one night only  
One night only  
Come on, we better come on  
One night only  
We only have 'til dawn  
(We only have 'til dawn)  
We only have 'til dawn  
(We only have 'til dawn!)  
One night only  
One night only

One night only (Oh)  
One night only (Yeah-yeah)

One night only (Come on, come on)  
One night only (Come on, come on)  
You and I will be running out of time!

Whoo yeah (Come on, come on)  
Whoo, come on (Come on, come on)  
Come on (Come on, come on)  
Come on, yeah (Come on, come on)

One night only (Come on, come on)  
One night only (Come on, come on)  
Come on, come on  
Come on, come on  
Come on, come on  
Come on, come on  
Come on!"

Sam was the first on out of his seat when Mercedes finished her last note, knocking his chair over as he went. He threw his arms around Mercedes and kissed her passionately. "Baby, you were amazing!" He yelled when they finished.

"Yeah, you were," Will echoed. Mercedes blushed and bowed before taking Sam's hand and returning to her seat. "Now you're up, Rach."

Rachel return to the middle of the choir room and the lights dimmed ready for her performance.

"There's a place for us,  
Somewhere a place for us.  
Peace and quiet and open air  
Wait for us  
Somewhere.

There's a time for us,  
Someday a time for us,  
Time together with time spare,  
Time to learn, time to care,  
Some day!

Somewhere.  
We'll find a new way of living,  
We'll find a way of forgiving  
Somewhere . . .

There's a place for us,  
A time and place for us.  
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.  
Hold my hand and I'll take you there  
Somehow,  
Some day,  
Somewhere!"

The lights came back on and everyone clapped loudly for her. Rachel bowed slightly and welcomed the applause.

"Now that is a performance!" Santana said and stepped forward to hug Rachel. "It's now confirmed that we are the best bitches in this room!"

Rachel and Santana high-fived and laughed at everyone's shocked expressions.

"You two are so weird!" Mercedes announced.

"You've only just noticed?" Santana asked jokingly.

"No, but we've just realised how weird you are," Quinn added.

"Yeah, but that's why we love them so much," Brittany said. "Especially me and Puck, we love them more than everyone else." Brittany then stood up to join the two in the middle of the floor space in the choir room to take the other two girls hands. "That's something I love about this room though, I love these two so much; they're my girlfriend and her best friend. Then there's Quinn, who's my best friend and Joe, her boyfriend. Everyone is linked in some way but even without those links, we're still a group of extremely good friends. I'm so glad I have you all!"

"Jeez, Britt," Kurt gasped, "when did you become so deep?"

The entire group laughed slightly.

"I always have been," Brittany replied and Santana nodded at her side, "I just thought this was a perfect point to say it. The group has never been closer and we are so going to win Nationals!"

To this, the entire group cheered and everyone stood up to hug one another.

"With that all out of the way, is there anyone else that would like to perform something from a musical?" Shelby asked. She knew no one else had signed up for it but she hoped that someone else would perform.

"I'll give it a go, Mrs Schue," Carly said standing up and taking centre stage. "I'm not really a huge fan of musicals, I prefer more rock type songs but Rachel introduced me to Spring Awakening a couple of days ago and it has the type of music that I enjoy. This song also kinda fits with my situation with my own mother." She quickly walked over to the band and told them the song they wanted and they adapted their instruments before starting the introduction.

"Mama who bore me  
Mama who gave me  
No way to handle things  
Who made me so bad

Mama, the weeping  
Mama, the angels  
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem

Some pray that one day  
Christ will come a'-callin'  
They light a candle  
And hope that it glows  
And some just lie there  
Crying for him to come and find them  
But when he comes they don't know how to go

Mama who bore me  
Mama who gave me  
No way to handle things  
Who made me so sad

Mama, the weeping  
Mama, the angels  
No sleep in Heaven, or Bethlehem"

When Carly finished, everyone stood up and applauded her talent. Rachel rushed straight up to her and hugged her saying, "You're amazing, Carls!" Carly hugged her back but then suddenly started to sob before running away. Finn stood immediately to follow but Rachel shook her head at him and followed her sister out of the room shouting after her.

Rachel eventually found Carly in the girls' toilets close to the choir room. She was sat in the corner crying.

"Carly, what's wrong?" Rachel asked gently.

"I miss my mom, if I'm honest," Carly replied. "I probably shouldn't as she kicked me out and don't get me wrong, I love you, Dad and Daddy but I miss having a female figure. You know?"

"I totally understand." Rachel walked closer to her sister and slipped down the wall to sit down. "I felt that so much growing up and I craved to meet my mother and I finally have and I'm happy." Rachel paused slightly before carrying on. "I didn't realise that you'd need a mother figure seeing as you're eighteen."

"I'm tempted to go see her," Carly admitted. "It was my dad who really kicked me out. My mom just loves him so she agreed with it."

"I can always come with you if you want to see her," Rachel suggested.

"No, it's something I have to do own my own."

"Come on, we need to get back to the choir room before they come looking for us," Rachel said and Carly quickly stood up and then helped her sister up before taking her hand and walking back to the choir room.

When they returned, everyone looked puzzled but Finn just looked relieved when Carly walked back in. He walked away from his conversation with his brother and Blaine and walked straight over to Carly and wrapped his arms around her. "Whatever the matter is, I'm here to help you," he promised and then kissed her temple leading to Carly smiling into his shoulder.

"I think we'll end rehearsal there today," Will announced to the entire room as he watched the scene before him and mostly in twos, everyone left until Shelby and Will were the only two there.

Will walked over to Shelby and went to wrap his arms around her but she sidestepped him before he could and walked over to the piano.

"Shel?"

"I want to sing something with you," Shelby announced. "I had planned to do it in the actual rehearsal but that went to pot."

Will then joined her at the piano and saw the music Shelby had put in front of her. She then started to play and after the short introduction, she started to sing.

"Shelby:  
Perhaps I had a wicked childhood  
Perhaps I had a miserable youth  
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past  
There must have been a moment of truth

For here you are, standing there, loving me  
Whether or not you should  
So somewhere in my youth or childhood  
I must have done something good

Nothing comes from nothing  
Nothing ever could  
So somewhere in my youth or childhood  
I must have done something good

Will:  
For here you are, standing there, loving me  
Whether or not you should

Shelby:  
So somewhere in my youth or childhood  
I must have done something good

Shelby and Will:  
Nothing comes from nothing  
Nothing ever could

Shelby:  
So somewhere in my youth  
Will:  
Or childhood  
Shelby:  
I must have done something . . .  
Shelby and Will:  
Something good"

"I love you, Shelby Schuester," Will said when they stopped singing. He took Shelby's hands off of the piano and linked their fingers together, "and I can't wait for our honeymoon to finally begin."

"I love you, too," Shelby replied and simultaneously, they leant forward and sealed their lips and a kissed that took both of their breaths away.

"Let's get home and see our daughter," Will said as they pulled away.

And Beth was officially their daughter. A week after the wedding, Will had adopted Beth and her name had been changed officially to Bethany Quinn Schuester instead of Corcoran. Shelby wasn't actually sure if Quinn was aware that Beth had her name as her middle name. It had never come up but she'd always been called that. Shelby and Quinn hadn't seen eye to eye at the beginning but Shelby would always been thankful to Quinn for giving birth to Beth and for giving Shelby a chance to be a proper mother from the beginning. But then Shelby was just as grateful to Rachel for giving her a second, well third chance to try and be her mother again. To Shelby, Rachel, Beth and Quinn were all gifts in her eyes.

oOoOo

That evening, Rachel, Puck and her fathers were sat around the kitchen table after their evening meal. Carly had soon shot off so she could go to Finn's so she could talk to him about what she'd told Rachel earlier in the day. Rachel and Puck had originally planned to go Santana's after their evening meal as she was having a small get together but Hiram and Leroy had stopped their tracks when they were going to leave.

"Dads, what's going on?" Rachel asked with concern in her eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, of course darling," Hiram replied quickly, "there's nothing to worry about."

"Then why are you looking so…" she trailed off to think of the work.

"Serious?" Puck suggested.

"Yeah, serious?"

"We want to talk to you both about the upcoming months," Leroy revealed. "We're just waiting for your mother to arrive."

And just as Leroy said that, the doorbell rang indicating Shelby's arrival. Hiram stood and walked over to the front door to let in Shelby and it turned out that when she walked into the kitchen, Will was also here.

"Who's looking after Beth?" Puck asked.

"We asked Quinn and Joe to look after her," Shelby replied as she took a seat next to Rachel, "seeing as our usual babysitters are busy."

Puck laughed slightly as Shelby's joke but then his face turned serious. "What's going on?"

"Rachel mentioned to me that the babies are most likely going to come early," Shelby said, "we need to start thinking about who's looking after them when they arrive and how things are going to work."

"Rachel and I need to be at school for finals," Puck interjected.

"We know and Shelby and I need to be at school to make sure that we win Nationals," Will said.

"Therefore, it is most likely going to be me and your daddy who are going to be looking after the little ones during the day," Leroy added. "Are you agreeable to that?"

"Of course, Leroy, we trust you both immensely," Puck said quickly. "I don't understand why you're asking us when you know we'll be okay with it."

"I want to be the one to look after them," Rachel said quietly. "They're my children. It's my responsibility."

"You need to get the grades, sweetheart," Shelby said and placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "You need to be at school."

"Then why come here and ask me what I want then?" Rachel asked rhetorically with her temper building. "You all know what the plan is and yet you're all talking about it knowing what I want is different. Why ask me what I want if you're just going to go against it?!" She pushed back on her chair loudly and waddled her way up the stairs.

"I'll go," Puck said and he started to follow until Shelby placed her hand on his shoulder, "let me," she said and walked past him.

When Shelby got upstairs, she saw Rachel sitting at the side of her bed with her head in her hands. Her body was shaking making it obvious that she was crying. However, she looked up when she heard her door opening.

"Go away," she muttered. "I want to be alone."

"Honey, don't be like this," Shelby whispered but she didn't move. "We just wanted to make sure that you knew what was going on."

"I already knew all of this was going to happen but what's wrong with me wanting to look after my own children?"

"I know that's what you want to do but you're going have to find some balance." Realising that Rachel had calmed down a little, Shelby walked into her daughter's bedroom and sat down gently next to her wrapping her arm around her as she sat. "That's what your dads and I are here for," Shelby continued, "Noah and Will are also going to be by your side every step of the way. You'll be able to come home at lunch time and look after them and you'll be here at the end of the day. You will be there for them."

"What if I miss any of their firsts?" Rachel asked and looked up at her mother.

"You'll only be in school for a couple of months, I hardly doubt you'll miss them," Shelby replied honestly but she knew what Rachel was talking about. The thing she regretted most about not watching Rachel grow up was missing her firsts: her first words, her first steps and even her first day at school.

"I love you, Mom," Rachel said.

"I love you, too, honey," Shelby replied. "Are you ready to come back downstairs and talk about things a little more calmly now?"

Rachel nodded and gingerly stood up and held her hand out. Shelby took it without a pause and the two of them went back downstairs.

"Sorry about that," Rachel mumbled.

"It's no problem darling," Hiram replied.

For the rest of the night, they discussing things calmly and they ended up getting everything planned. The only things left to plan were the baby names and the people who were going to be in the delivery room with Rachel. The former as Rachel and Puck couldn't make up their minds and the latter because they didn't know how many were allowed in the room yet. However, that was something they were going to find out sooner than later.

oOoOo

Carly returned about half an hour after Shelby and Will had gone home and she went straight up to Rachel's room to see her sat on her bed with Puck sat at the desk.

"Can I talk to my sister alone for a few minutes?" Carly asked looking at Puck.

"Sure, I'll go grab a drink from downstairs," Puck replied and kissed Rachel's temple as he walked past her.

"Get me one, too?" Rachel called as he walked out.

"Sure thing, babe." Puck then walked out the room and Carly moved further into the room.

"Carly?" Rachel looked apprehensive; she hadn't seen her sister look this happy in a long time. Carly shot forward and sat next to her sister on the bed.

"Finn drove me to my parent's house," Carly admitted. "Luckily my dad wasn't in and it was just my mom and we talked about everything. She said she was so sorry that everything happened and she said that I could move back in if I wanted but I'm not going to, don't worry," Carly added when she saw the sadness in Rachel's eyes. "I'm so happy to live here but I told her about needing my mom and she said that she was always there for me. So we're going to go out for coffee or out for dinner at least once a week. I'm so excited!"

"I'm so happy for you, Carls," Rachel said and hugged her sister.

"Thanks Rach. Anyway, I'm gonna head to bed." Carly climbed off the bed gently and then skipped out of the room, passing a confused looking Puck on her way.

"Is she okay?" Puck asked as he placed his and Rachel's drinks on the bedside table.

"She's fine," Rachel replied smiling and then filled Puck in with what had happened.

"I'm happy that she's happy again," Puck said. "I've known Carly for a while and she's had a tough life but she's never been happier than living with you and now she's got the balance she needed."

"Yeah," Rachel sighed and then leant into the Puck's side as they started talking about everything and nothing until Rachel fell asleep on Puck's shoulder.

Puck gently took off her clothes and put her pyjamas on and tucked her up in bed before taking his clothes off and joining her after the turning the lamp next to the bed off. He then pulled the duvet up and pulled Rachel close to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly before falling deeply asleep with her.


	43. Chapter 43

_Hi guys!_ _ I had totally forgotten that I'd written this chapter up due to saving it in the wrong place (oops) but I've found it and thought I had better upload it. I've finished exams now thankfully but I still have a couple of busy weeks with sorting out my bedroom and plans with friends so I don't know when I can write and upload the next chapters. Fingers crossed I can get some time and start writing again. I'm sorry for the huge wait and I'm so grateful that people are still following and favouriting and reviewing. It means the world to me so thank you so very much. So, I'll let you get on with this chapter. Emss x_

The rest of the week passed much sooner than everyone thought but they were all grateful for it. The best part of the week for the New Directions, had to be Shelby's surprise for them all when they walked into the choir room at the beginning of Friday's rehearsal to see a note on the white board saying to head straight to the auditorium. The team ran as fast as they could to get there with Santana and Puck helping Rachel get there quickly. When they finally arrived, they saw Shelby covered practically head to toe in green with Will stood in front of her looked extremely amused.

"Surprise!" She shouted. "I thought I'd leave you all a gift before we go on our honeymoon."

"Everyone give it up for Shelby Schuester!" Will shouted and then stepped off the stage to sit with the rest of the group and gave the small orchestra behind Shelby a thumbs up to start playing. As soon as the first note started, the lights on the stage blacked out with only a spot light on Shelby.

"(spoken) Fiyero!  
(sung) Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen

Let his flesh not be torn  
Let his blood leave no stain  
When they beat him  
Let him feel no pain  
Let his bones never break  
And however they try  
To destroy him  
Let him never die:  
Let him never die:

Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka: eleka:

What good is this chanting?  
I don't even know what I'm reading!  
I don't even know what trick I ought to try  
Fiyero, where are you?  
Already dead of bleeding.  
One more disaster I can add to my  
Generous supply?  
No good deed goes unpunished  
No act of charity goes unresented  
No good deed goes unpunished  
That's my new creed  
My road of good intentions  
Led where such roads always lead  
No good deed  
Goes unpunished!

Nessa:  
Doctor Dillamond:  
Fiyero:  
Fiyero!

One question haunts and hurts  
Too much, too much to mention:  
Was I really seeking good  
Or just seeking attention?  
Is that all good deeds are  
When looked at with an ice-cold eye?  
If that's all good deeds are  
Maybe that's the reason why

No good deed goes unpunished  
All helpful urges should be circumvented  
No good deed goes unpunished  
Sure, I meant well -  
Well, look at what well-meant did:  
All right, enough - so be it  
So be it, then:  
Let all Oz be agreed  
I'm wicked through and through  
Since I cannot succeed  
Fiyero, saving you  
I promise no good deed  
Will I attempt to do again  
Ever again  
No good deed  
Will I do again!"

When the note ended, the lights on the stage returned and the audience all stood and yelled their congratulations to Shelby on the stage who was bowing to the applause.

"Mom, you were amazing!" Rachel yelled when the clapping had died down. "How you didn't get on Broadway is beyond me!"

"Thank you, sweetie," Shelby replied fondly, "you're too kind."

"I don't think I can get used to you being green," Will joked as he stepped back onto the stage to give Shelby a kiss.

"I kinda like it," she replied and winked at him before turning to face their students. "As you all know, Will and I are going on our honeymoon tonight and we won't be back until Monday next week. So next week in glee club, Rachel and Puck are going to be taking over."

"We can handle it, Mom."

"Who's looking after Beth?" Quinn asked.

"She's staying with me but you're welcome to come over anytime to help," Rachel replied.

"You bet I'll be there," Quinn promised and hugged Rachel tightly.

"Are we not allowed?" Santana joked elbowing Rachel slightly.

"You're welcome to come round whenever you want," Rachel replied, "you just never do."

"We'll be there straight after rehearsal then before the little one gets dropped off."

"We'll be there around eight," Shelby said as she walked off the stage.

"Sounds perfect."

oOoOo

As normal, when Puck dropped Rachel and Carly off home, he started to get out of the car to join them inside but Rachel stopped him.

"Babe, as much as I love you," she began, "we're going to have a girls' night until my Mom comes to drop off Beth. Then you can come over. Is that okay?"

Puck paused for a second, a little hurt that Rachel hadn't filled him in about it earlier but then shrugged. "Sure, I'll call Sam and Mike and maybe some others and have a boys' night," he replied before stepping back into the car.

"Are you annoyed with me?" Rachel asked. "Don't lie to me."

"Yeah, I am a bit, actually. You didn't warn me about this."

"I didn't know until we pulled up!"

"So that's why you weren't listening to me the whole journey home. You were just texting all of your friends."

"Why are you so angry at me?!" Rachel temper was increasing by the second. "I spend every single day with you, Noah. Am I not allowed to see my friends?"

"Of course you are!" Puck cried, offended that his fiancée would even say such a thing.

"Then I don't see the problem!"

Just as Puck was about to reply, Santana's car turned up on the drive way and she, Brittany and Quinn all jumped out yelling, "Party!"

"Bye, Noah," Rachel said finally before storming away from the car and up to her friends to greet them.

Puck reversed off the drive and didn't look back to see Santana and Quinn's raised eyebrows at what they just witnessed. However, their attention was soon changed when Brittany and Rachel giggled at what the blonde had bought.

"No way, you have duck slippers!" Rachel gasped.

"Do you like them, Rachie?" Brittany asked. "Sanny bought me them for our anniversary."

"They're amazing!" Rachel replied, "come on in guys."

oOoOo

Within the space of half an hour all the other girls (plus Kurt) from the New Directions had turned up. Mercedes and Tina turned up first and Sugar and Kurt following not long after. The pizzas had all been ordered and the group were all sat in the living room. Rachel, Kurt and Quinn were sharing one sofa, Tina, Sugar and Carly on another and Brittany, Santana and Mercedes sharing the last one but Santana was pretty much sat on top of her girlfriend instead of on the sofa itself.

"What went on between you and Puck when we got here?" Quinn asked Rachel while the others were trying to decide which film to watch first. Brittany was demanding Beauty and the Beast while Carly and Tina were begging for Twilight.

"He didn't like the fact that we arranged a girl night I didn't warn him," Rachel replied and sighed. "I didn't even know that it was going to happen. It was Santana's idea."

"What was my idea?" Despite the fact that she was trying to get everyone to agree with Brittany's choice of movie, Santana had still heard her name being mentioned in the quiet conversation Quinn and Rachel were having.

"This 'party'," Quinn said.

"Yeah, so, what about it?" Santana asked and got off Brittany's lap crossing the room to sit on Kurt's lap as there wasn't a free space on that sofa.

"Santana?" Kurt questioned but the Latina just ignored him.

"Noah isn't happy about it," Rachel revealed. "I don't even get why. I spend all of my free time with him practically and one night that I've decided to do something with my friends, he gets annoyed with me!"

"I totally get where you're coming from," Kurt said. "He shouldn't have reacted like you said he did. You're free to do what you want."

"I think it's because we got told the twins are most likely going to come early," Rachel said after a short pause.

"I guess he doesn't want to leave you in case it happens and he's not there for you," Santana sighed. "You'd both be pretty pissed if he wasn't around and you went into labour."

"I know but it's not going to happen yet," Rachel said confidently. "I bet they won't come for at least another month."

Just as Quinn was about to reply, Carly suddenly shouted, "You know what? This is my house, therefore I get to choose the movie. We're watching Twilight!"

"Sanny, tell her!" Brittany cried and pouted towards her girlfriend.

"Carly has a point, B," Santana shrugged but then quickly got off Kurt's lap to go back to her girlfriend to kiss her pout away. "We can watch Beauty and the Beast at mine later tonight. Is that okay?"

"Perfect," Brittany replied and leant forward to kiss Santana again.

oOoOo

Just after the first Twilight film had finished, the doorbell rang indicating that the pizzas had arrived. With Carly being closest to the door, she opened it wide to reveal Sam stood there.

"Sam!" Mercedes yelled and ran over towards her boyfriend as Carly shouted out, "Daddy, the pizzas are here!"

Hiram walked up to the front door and paid Sam for the Pizzas. Sam thanked Hiram but then called, "Cedes, can I talk to you for a second?"

Mercedes raised her eyebrow at her boyfriend before following him outside.

"Puck asked me to ask you if you'll call him," Sam said. "He's pretty upset at the moment and I don't quite know why."

"I'll head over in a bit instead," Mercedes replied, "But I'll text him now to warn him."

"Okay, baby, I'll see you tomorrow." Sam leant forward and kissed Mercedes and smiled at her before returning to his car to deliver more pizzas.

When Mercedes went back into the house, she immediately went to her phone, instead of heading to the kitchen where everyone else was, to send a quick text to Puck reading: _Is everything okay, sugar plum?_ A few seconds later she got a reply: _Not really, I'm confused_. Mercedes sighed and sent another text before heading into the kitchen with the others: _I'll be there in twenty mins._

Everyone already had plates full of pizza by the time Mercedes had walked in to the kitchen and she quickly grabbed a couple of slices so that she didn't miss out on it.

"Is everything okay with you and Sam?" Tina asked nudging Mercedes with her hip.

"Yeah, everything's great," Mercedes replied after taking a bite out of her Hawaiian pizza. "Why?"

"You just look confused and sad."

"It's Puck," Mercedes whispered into Tina's ear so Rachel didn't hear her. "I'm gonna leave soon to go over to his. Are you okay getting a lift home with someone else?"

"I can always call Mike or my dad to pick me up." Mercedes nodded before joining the other conversations that were going around.

oOoOo

Before Mercedes knew it, she'd made her excuses to Rachel and was sitting in Puck's living room with a can of coke in her hand next to Puck himself.

"What's going on?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't even know," Puck admitted. "I just miss you and wanted to talk."

"I've missed you, too," Mercedes replied and then shifted a little closer to Puck, "What's going on?" She asked again.

"Rach and I had an argument because she didn't tell me about this girls' night thing."

"None of us knew until we got home. Santana decided that we were all going to Rachel's before Mr and Mrs Schue dropped Beth off. She didn't have time to warn you," Mercedes revealed.

"I thought they'd planned it during the day and she hadn't told me," Puck sighed, "now I feel like a complete tool."

"I'm not surprised." Mercedes then took a deep drink of her coke before putting her hand on Puck's knee. "You and Rachel are so close and it's obvious how much you love each other but for everything to work, you need to have a deep trust in each other. You don't need to know what they're doing every second of the day."

"I'm with her every day," Puck interrupted.

"Maybe that's the problem. You're with each other too much. I love Sam more than anything but we're not with each other constantly because that would drive both of us insane," she said.

"I need to be with her though, in case the babies come early." Puck then put his head in his hand. "I can't win!"

"You need to find balance and as soon as you find it, everything will be as easy as pie."

"You sure?" Puck asked looking up at his best friend.

"Would I lie to you?"

Puck shook his head and then wrapped his arms tightly around Mercedes and kissed her cheek. "You're the best best friend anyone could ask for."

"I know." Puck laughed when Mercedes winked at him.

The conversation became much less heavy until around eight o'clock when Pucks' phone went off. He quickly answered it and then looked at Mercedes. "Shelby and Will have just dropped Beth off. I need to get over there."

Mercedes nodded and they both headed to the door to get their shoes on. Once that had happened, Mercedes hugged her best friend before getting into her car and drove off towards her house. Puck then got into his and drove to Rachel's. He'd driven to and from their houses so much, he could do it blindfolded but that probably wouldn't be the safest thing to do. However, with driving it so much, he knew all the short cuts and was at Rachel's in less than ten minutes.

He pulled up on the drive and turned off the ignition before jumping out the car, locking it and heading towards Rachel's front door. He never knocked anymore; he just waltzed straight in and saw Rachel sitting on the sofa with Beth on her lap. She was reading to the little girl and was using different voices for the different characters making Beth giggle. Puck didn't want to interrupt the sisters but when he shut the door behind him both girls looked up.

"Noah!" Beth cried and giggled when Puck ran straight over to her and picked her up placing kisses all over her face.

"Hey, smoochie!" He replied once he set her back down on Rachel lap. He then leant over her and kissed Rachel. "Hey, Rach. I'm sorry about earlier."

Rachel patted the sofa space next to her and Puck walked over to sit next to her. She then held her hand out for Puck to take.

"It's fine," Rachel said after a couple minutes of silence, "but I don't want it to happen again. You have to believe me if I say that I didn't know that it was going to happen. Santana arranged it before I knew what was going on."

"I know, Mercedes told me."

"So that's why she disappeared before everyone else," Rachel murmured, more to herself than as part of the conversation.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Puck said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just needed her and she wasn't answering her phone. I had called Sam and Mike to see if they wanted to come round but Mike was at his grandmothers and Sam was working. He sent me a text though when you guys ordered the pizzas and that's how I got my message to her."

"Fair enough. Why not text me to tell her?"

"I didn't know if you were angry with me or not."

Rachel sighed and then picked Beth up off of her lap and placed the toddler on the floor just in front of her so she could continue to play with her toy before she turned to face Puck.

"I could never be angry at you," Rachel admitted. "Sure, you annoy me on the odd occasion but I could never be angry." She then let go of his hand and opted to put her arms round his neck instead and looked him straight in the eye. "I love you," she promised before she sealed their lips together in a kiss that took both of their breaths away.

"Eww!" Beth groaned pointing at Rachel and Puck. "Momma and Dada do dat," Beth said in her baby voice.

As soon as Beth said 'Dada', Puck froze. He knew that Will had officially adopted her and that she was now Beth Schuester but he didn't expect to feel the pang in his chest when she called Will 'Dada'.

Rachel saw Puck flinch but she couldn't do anything yet. Instead she picked Beth back up and placed her on her lap again. "That's because Momma and your dada love each other just like me and Noah."

"My dada not your dada?" Beth asked. Her hazel-green eyes filled with confusion.

"No, but you'll learn all about that when you're older," Rachel replied with a smile. Beth then yawned and leant into Rachel's shoulder. Her eyes started closing but she was fighting to stay awake. Rachel then looked up to Puck, "I'm going to take her up to bed."

"Where's she sleeping?" Puck asked.

"In our room, Will brought a cot for her and the baby monitors," Rachel said and then stood up and walked slowly towards the stairs. She was looking forward to the babies coming even more now so that she wouldn't waddle when she walked or just so she could walk at her normal speed.

Once Rachel was in her room, she changed Beth into her pyjamas and gently placed her down in her bed. She pulled up the toddler's covers while humming gently and it didn't take long for Beth to fall asleep properly. Smiling brightly, Rachel turned and headed back downstairs to Puck who was still sitting on the sofa.

"Are you okay, baby?" Rachel wondered aloud sitting down on Puck's lap.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Hearing her say 'dada' about Will gave me a weird feeling. But she's right; Will is her dad by law."

"You're her dad by blood," Rachel said quietly.

"I know, it's strange," Puck agreed. "I try not to think of her as my daughter but things like that make me realise that I'm part of the reason that she's alive."

"And that makes you amazing," Rachel said making Puck scoffed. "No, listen to me. Yeah, she was technically a mistake just like these two," Rachel said pointing at her belly, "but you gave my mom a chance to be a proper mother and it's given me a chance to be a big sister. It's also given Will that chance to be a father, which is something he's craved for ever."

Puck didn't reply for a while, letting what his fiancée had just said sink in and, obviously, she was right. Despite the way she was conceived, everything about Beth was amazing.

"You're right," he said finally.

"I always am," Rachel replied with a smirk before yawning loudly. "Anyway, I'm going up to bed as I'm tired."

"I'll be right up. Let me just clear everything away."

Rachel nodded and then started walking up to her room as Puck tidied the living room and putting the toys Beth had brought with her in the corner so they were all together. He then took the glasses on the table into the kitchen and put them into the dishwasher before going upstairs and joining Rachel in bed.


End file.
